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HE    COULD    OXI.Y     STARK     AT     HER 


THE 

CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

B  Tttovel 


BY 

BOOTH    TARKINGTON 


AUTHOR  OP 
"CHERRY  '  "MONSIEUR  BEAUCAIRE  "  ETC 


ILLUSTRATIONS    BY 

LUCIUS   W.    HITCHCOCK 


NEW     YORK     AND     LONDON 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 
J905 


Copyright,  1905,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 

All  rights  resencd. 
Published  October,  1905. 


TO 
L.  F.   T. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  ENTER  CHORUS i 

II.  A  RESCUE 28 

III.  OLD  HOPES 43 

IV.  THE  DISASTER 59 

V.  BEAVER  BEACH 77 

VI.  "YE'LL  TAK'  THE  HIGH  ROAD  AND  I'LL  TAK' 

THE  Low  ROAD" 88 

VII.  "GivE  A  DOG  A  BAD  NAME" 100 

VIII.  A  BAD  PENNY  TURNS  UP no 

IX.  "OUTER  DARKNESS" 125 

X.  THE  TRYST 143 

XI.  WHEN  HALF-GODS  Go 157 

XII.  To  REMAIN  ON  THE  I  IELD  OF  BATTLE  is  NOT 

ALWAYS  A  VICTORY 175 

XIII.  THE  WATCHER  AND  THE  WARDEN 187 

XIV.  WHITE  ROSES  IN  A  LAW-OFFICE 212 

XV.  HAPPY  FEAR  GIVES   HIMSELF  UP 235 

XVI.  THE  Two  CANAANS 251 

XVII.  MR.  SHEEHAN'S  HINTS 259 

XVIII.  IN  THF,  HEAT  OF  THE  DAY 273 

XIX.  ESKEW  ARP 291 

v 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.  THREE  ARE  ENLISTED 299 

XXI.  NORBERT  WAITS  FOR  JOE 312 

XXII.  MR.  SHEEHAN  SPEAKS 320 

XXIII.  JOE  WALKS  ACROSS  THE  COURT-HOUSE  YARD   .  330 

XXIV.  MARTIN  PIKE  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT      .     .     .  348 

XXV.  THE  JURY  COMES  IN 364 

XXVI.  "ANCIENT  OF  DAYS" 378 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

"HE    COULD    ONLY    STARE    AT    HER" Frontispiece 

"'THEY'RE  ALWAYS  BEAUTIFUL,' SHE  SAID,  SOFTLY'"  Facing  p.    46 

"'JOE,  HAVE  YOU  GOT  TO  RUN  AWAY?'"    ....  "         92 

"'POSITIVELY  NO  FREE  SEATS!'" "       102 

"'I'VE  SEEN  HIM  THERE  MYSELF*" "       196 

"'QUIET!'" ....  "       246 

'"THINK!     WHAT'S    HAPPENED    LATELY    TO    MAKE 

HIM  BITE  SO  HARD?'" "       268 

"'YOU  WANT  ALL  THAT  CHANGED,  YOU  MEAN?'"   .  "       370 


THE 
CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 


THE 
CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 


ENTER   CHORUS 

DRY  snow  had  fallen  steadily 
throughout  the  still  night,  so  that 
when  a  cold,  upper  wind  cleared  the 
sky  gloriously  in  the  morning  the 
incongruous  Indiana  town  shone  in  a 
white  harmony — roof,  ledge,  and  earth  as  evenly 
covered  as  by  moonlight.  There  was  no  thaw; 
only  where  the  line  of  factories  followed  the  big 
bend  of  the  frozen  river,  their  distant  chimneys  like 
exclamation  points  on  a  blank  page,  was  there  a 
first  threat  against  the  supreme  whiteness.  The 
wind  passed  quickly  and  on  high;  the  shouting  of 
the  school- children  had  ceased  at  nine  o'clock  with 
pitiful  suddenness;  no  sleigh-bells  laughed  out  on 
the  air;  and  the  muffling  of  the  thoroughfares 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

wrought  an  unaccustomed  peace  like  that  of  Sun 
day.  This  was  the  phenomenon  which  afforded  the 
opening  of  the  morning  debate  of  the  sages  in  the 
wide  windows  of  the  "National  House." 

Only  such  unfortunates  as  have  so  far  failed 
to  visit  Canaan  do  not  know  that  the  "National 
House  "  is  on  the  Main  Street  side  of  the  Court 
house  Square,  and  has  the  advantage  of  being 
within  two  minutes'  walk  of  the  railroad  station, 
which  is  in  plain  sight  of  the  windows — an  ines 
timable  benefit  to  the  conversation  of  the  aged 
men  who  occupied  these  windows  on  this  white 
morning,  even  as  they  were  wont  in  summer  to  hold 
against  all  comers  the  cane-seated  chairs  on  the 
pavement  outside.  Thence,  as  trains  came  and 
went,  they  commanded  the  city  gates,  and,  seeking 
motives  and  adding  to  the  stock  of  history,  narrow 
ly  observed  and  examined  into  all  who  entered  or 
departed.  Their  habit  was  not  singular.  He  who 
would  foolishly  tax  the  sages  of  Canaan  with  a 
bucolic  light-mindedness  must  first  walk  in  Picca 
dilly  in  early  June,  stroll  down  the  Corso  in  Rome 
before  Ash  Wednesday,  or  regard  those  windows  of 
Fifth  Avenue  whose  curtains  are  withdrawn  of  a 
winter  Sunday;  for  in  each  of  these  great  streets, 
wherever  the  windows,  not  of  trade,  are  widest,  his 
eyes  must  behold  wise  men,  like  to  those  of  Canaan, 
executing  always  their  same  purpose. 


ENTER   CHORUS 

The  difference  is  in  favor  of  Canaan;  the  "Na 
tional  House  "  was  the  club,  but  the  perusal  of 
traveller  or  passer  by  was  here  only  the  spume 
blown  before  a  stately  ship  of  thought;  and  you 
might  hear  the  sages  comparing  the  Koran  with  the 
speeches  of  Robert  J.  Ingersoll. 

In  the  days  of  board  sidewalks,  "mail-time"  had 
meant  a  precise  moment  for  Canaan,  and  even  now, 
many  years  after  the  first  postman,  it  remained 
somewhat  definite  to  the  aged  men;  for,  out  of 
deference  to  a  pleasant,  olden  custom,  and  perhaps 
partly  for  an  excuse  to  "get  down  to  the  hotel" 
(which  was  not  altogether  in  favor  with  the  elderly 
ladies),  most  of  them  retained  their  antique  boxes 
in  the  post-office,  happily  in  the  next  building. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  written  that  a 
subscription  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Chicago 
Daily  Standard,  having  noted  a  single  subscriber 
from  Canaan,  was,  a  fortnight  later,  pleased  to 
receive,  by  one  mail,  nine  subscriptions  from  that 
promising  town.  If  one  brought  nine  others  in  a 
fortnight,  thought  he,  what  would  nine  bring  in  a 
month?  Amazingly,  they  brought  nothing,  and 
the  rest  was  silence.  Here  was  a  matter  of  intricate 
diplomacy  never  to  come  within  that  youth  his 
ken.  The  morning  voyage  to  the  post  -  office, 
long  mocked  as  a  fable  and  screen  by  the  families 
of  the  sages,  had  grown  so  difficult  to  accomplish 

3 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

for  one  of  them,  Colonel  Flitcroft  (Colonel  in  the 
war  with  Mexico),  that  he  had  been  put  to  it,  in 
deed,  to  foot  the  firing-line  against  his  wife  (a  lady 
of  celebrated  determination  and  hale -voiced  at 
seventy),  and  to  defend  the  rental  of  a  box  which 
had  sheltered  but  three  missives  in  four  years. 
Desperation  is  often  inspiration ;  the  Colonel  brill 
iantly  subscribed  for  the  Standard,  forgetting  to 
give  his  house  address,  and  it  took  the  others  just 
thirteen  days  to  wring  his  secret  from  him.  Then 
the  Standard  served  for  all. 

Mail-time  had  come  to  mean  that  bright  hour 
when  they  all  got  their  feet  on  the  brass  rod  which 
protected  the  sills  of  the  two  big  windows,  with  the 
steam  -  radiators  sizzling  like  kettles  against  the 
side  wall.  Mr.  Jonas  Tabor,  who  had  sold  his 
hardware  business  magnificently  ( not  magnificently 
for  his  nephew,  the  purchaser)  some  ten  years  be 
fore,  was  usually,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  re 
mained  a  bachelor  at  seventy-nine,  the  last  to  settle 
down  with  the  others,  though  often  the  first  to  reach 
the  hotel,  which  he  always  entered  by  a  side  door, 
because  he  did  not  believe  in  the  treating  system. 
And  it  was  Mr.  Eskew  Arp,  only  seventy-five,  but 
already  a  thoroughly  capable  cynic,  who,  almost 
invariably  "opened  the  argument,"  and  it  was  he 
who  discovered  the  sinister  intention  behind  the 
weather  of  this  particular  morning.  Mr.  Arp  had 

4 


ENTER   CHORUS 

not  begun  life  so  sourly:  as  a  youth  he  had  been 
proud  of  his  given  name,  which  had  come  to  him 
through  his  mother's  family,  who  had  made  it 
honorable,  but  many  years  of  explanations  that 
Eskew  did  not  indicate  his  initials  had  lowered  his 
opinion  of  the  intelligence  and  morality  of  the  race. 

The  malevolence  of  his  voice  and  manner  this 
morning,  therefore,  when  he  shook  his  finger  at 
the  town  beyond  the  windows,  and  exclaimed, 
with  a  bitter  laugh,  "Look  at  it!"  was  no  surprise 
to  his  companions.  "Jest  look  at  it!  I  tell  you 
the  devil  is  mighty  smart.  Ha,  ha!  Mighty 
smart!" 

Through  custom  it  was  the  duty  of  Squire 
Buckalew  (Justice  of  the  Peace  in  '59)  to  be  the 
first  to  take  up  Mr.  Arp.  The  others  looked  to 
him  for  it.  Therefore,  he  asked,  sharply: 

"What's  the  devil  got  to  do  with  snow?" 

"Everything  to  do  with  it,  sir,"  Mr.  Arp  re 
torted.  "  It's  plain  as  day  to  anybody  with  eyes 
and  sense." 

"Then  I  wish  you'd  p'int  it  out,"  said  Buckalew, 
"if  you've  got  either." 

"  By  the  Almighty,  Squire  "  — Mr.  Arp  turned  in 
his  chair  with  sudden  heat — "if  I'd  lived  as  long 
as  you— 

"You  have,"  interrupted  the  other,  stung. 
"Twelve  years  ago!" 

S 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

"If  I'd  lived  as  long  as  you,"  Mr.  Arp  repeated, 
unwincingly,  in  a  louder  voice,  "and  had  follered 
Satan's  trail  as  long  as  you  have,  and  yet  couldn't 
recognize  it  when  I  see  it,  I'd  git  converted  and 
vote  Prohibitionist." 

"7  don't  see  it,"  interjected  Uncle  Joe  Davey, 
in  his  querulous  voice.  (He  was  the  patriarch  of 
them  all.)  "7  can't  find  no  cloven-hoof-prints  in 
the  snow." 

"  All  over  it,  sir!"  cried  the  cynic.  "All  over  it! 
Old  Satan  loves  tricks  like  this.  Here's  a  town 
that's  jest  one  squirmin'  mass  of  lies  and  envy  and 
vice  and  wickedness  and  corruption — " 

"  Hold  on !"  exclaimed  Colonel  Flitcroft.  "  That's 
a  slander  upon  our  hearths  and  our  government. 
Why,  when  I  was  in  the  Council — 

"  It  wasn't  a  bit  worse  then,"  Mr.  Arp  returned, 
unreasonably.  "  Jest  you  look  how  the  devil  fools  us. 
He  drops  down  this  here  virgin  mantle  on  Canaan 
and  makes  it  look  as  good  as  you  pretend  you 
think  it  is:  as  good  as  the  Sunday-school  room  of  a 
country  church — though  that" — he  went  off  on  a 
tangent,  venomously — "  is  generally  only  another 
whited  sepulchre,  and  the  superintendent's  mighty 
apt  to  have  a  bottle  of  whiskey  hid  behind  the 
organ,  and — 

"Look  here,  Eskew,"  said  Jonas  Tabor,  "that's 
got  nothin'  to  do  with— 

6 


ENTER   CHORUS 

"Why  ain't  it?  Answer  me!"  cried  Mr.  Arp, 
continuing,  without  pause:  "Why  ain't  it?  Can't 
you  wait  till  I  git  through  ?  You  listen  to  me,  and 
when  I'm  ready  I'll  listen  to— 

"See  here,"  began  the  Colonel,  making  himself 
heard  over  three  others,  "  I  want  to  ask  you— 

"No,  sir!"  Mr.  Arp  pounded  the  floor  irascibly 
with  his  hickory  stick.  "  Don't  you  ask  me  any 
thing!  How  can  you  tell  that  I'm  not  going  to 
answer  your  question  without  your  asking  it,  till 
I've  got  through?  You  listen  first.  I  say,  here's 
a  town  of  nearly  thirty  thousand  inhabitants, 
every  last  one  of  'em — men,  women,  and  children — 
selfish  and  cowardly  and  sinful,  if  you  could  see 
their  innermost  natures ;  a  town  of  the  ugliest  and 
worst  built  houses  in  the  world,  and  governed  by  a 
lot  of  saloon-keepers — though  I  hope  it  '11  never 
git  down  to  where  the  ministers  can  run  it.  And 
the  devil  comes  along,  and  in  one  night — why,  all 
you  got  to  do  is  look  at  it!  You'd  think  we  needn't 
ever  trouble  to  make  it  better.  That's  what  the 
devil  wants  us  to  do — wants  us  to  rest  easy  about 
it,  and  paints  it  up  to  look  like  a  heaven  of  peace 
and  purity  and  sanctified  spirits.  Snowfall  like 
this  would  of  made  Lot  turn  the  angel  out-of-doors 
and  say  that  the  old  home  was  good  enough  for 
him.  Gomorrah  would  of  looked  like  a  Puritan 
village — though  I'll  bet  my  last  dollar  that  there 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    CANAAN 

was  a  lot,  and  a  whole  lot,  that's  never  been  told 
about  Puritan  villages.  A  lot  that— 

"  What  never  was?"  interrupted  Mr.  Poter  Brad 
bury,  whose  granddaughter  had  lately  announced 
her  discovery  that  the  Bradburys  were  descended 
from  Miles  Standish.  "What  wasn't  told  about 
Puritan  villages?" 

"  Can't  you  wait  ?"  Mr.  Arp's  accents  were  those 
of  pain.  "  Haven't  I  got  any  right  to  present  my 
side  of  the  case?  Ain't  we  restrained  enough  to 
allow  of  free  speech  here?  How  can  we  ever  git 
anywhere  in  an  argument  like  this,  unless  we  let 
one  man  talk  at  a  time?  How — " 

"Go  on  with  your  statement,"  said  Uncle  Joe 
Davey,  impatiently. 

Mr.  Arp's  grievance  was  increased.  "  Now  listen 
to  you  !  How  many  more  interruptions  are  comin'  ? 
I'll  listen  to  the  other  side,  but  I've  got  to  state 
mine  first,  haven't  I?  If  I  don't  make  my  point 
clear,  what's  the  use  of  the  argument?  Argu 
mentation  is  only  the  comparison  of  two  sides  of  a 
question,  and  you  have  to  see  what  the  first  side 
is  before  you  can  compare  it  with  the  other  one, 
don't  you?  Are  you  all  agreed  to  that?" 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  the  Colonel.  "Go  ahead.  We 
won't  interrupt  until  you're  through." 

"Very  well,"  resumed  Mr.  Arp,  with  a  fleeting 
expression  of  satisfaction,  "as  I  said  before,  I 

8 


ENTER    CHORUS 

wish  to — as  I  said—  He  paused,  in  some  con 
fusion.  "As  I  said,  argumentation  is — that  is,  I 
say — "  He  stopped  again,  utterly  at  sea,  having 
talked  himself  so  far  out  of  his  course  that  he  was 
unable  to  recall  either  his  sailing  port  or  his  desti 
nation.  Finally  he  said,  feebly,  to  save  the  con 
fession,  "Well,  go  on  with  your  side  of  it." 

This  generosity  was  for  a  moment  disconcerting; 
however,  the  quietest  of  the  party  took  up  the 
opposition  —  Roger  Tabor,  a  very  thin,  old  man 
with  a  clean-shaven  face,  almost  as  white  as  his 
hair,  and  melancholy,  gentle,  gray  eyes,  very  un 
like  those  of  his  brother  Jonas,  which  were  dark 
and  sharp  and  button-bright.  (It  was  to  Roger's 
son  that  Jonas  had  so  magnificently  sold  the  hard 
ware  business.)  Roger  was  known  in  Canaan  as 
"the  artist";  there  had  never  been  another  of  his 
profession  in  the  place,  and  the  town  knew  not  the 
word  "painter,"  except  in  application  to  the  use 
ful  artisan  who  is  subject  to  lead-poisoning.  There 
was  no  indication  of  his  profession  in  the  attire  of 
Mr.  Tabor,  unless  the  too  apparent  age  of  his 
black  felt  hat  and  a  neat  patch  at  the  elbow  of  his 
shiny,  old  brown  overcoat  might  have  been  taken 
as  symbols  of  the  sacrifice  to  his  muse  which  his 
life  had  been.  He  was  not  a  constant  attendant 
of  the  conclave,  and  when  he  came  it  was  usually 
to  listen;  indeed,  he  spoke  so  seldom  that  at  the 

9 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

sound  of  his  voice  they  all  turned  to  him  with 
some  surprise. 

"I  suppose,"  he  began,  "that  Eskew  means  the 
devil  is  behind  all  beautiful  things." 

"Ugly  ones,  too,"  said  Mr.  Arp,  with  a  start  of 
recollection.  "And  I  wish  to  state — 

"Not  now!"  Colonel  Flitcroft  turned  upon  him 
violently.  "You've  already  stated  it." 

"Then,  if  he  is  behind  the  ugly  things,  too,"  said 
Roger,  "  we  must  take  him  either  way,  so  let  us  be 
glad  of  the  beauty  for  its  own  sake.  Eskew  says 
this  is  a  wicked  town.  It  may  be — I  don't  know. 
He  says  it's  badly  built ;  perhaps  it  is ;  but  it  doesn't 
seem  to  me  that  it's  ugly  in  itself.  I  don't  know 
what  its  real  self  is,  because  it  wears  so  many  as 
pects.  God  keeps  painting  it  all  the  time,  and 
never  shows  me  twice  the  same  picture;  not  even 
two  snowfalls  are  just  alike,  nor  the  days  that  fol 
low  them ;  no  more  than  two  misty  sunsets  are 
alike  —  for  the  color  and  even  the  form  of  the 
town  you  call  ugly  are  a  matter  of  the  season  of 
the  year  and  of  the  time  of  day  and  of  the  light 
and  air.  The  ugly  town  is  like  an  endless  gallery 
which  you  can  walk  through,  from  year-end  to 
year-end,  never  seeing  the  same  canvas  twice,  no 
matter  how  much  you  may  want  to — and  there's 
the  pathos  of  it.  Isn't  it  the  same  with  people — 
with  the  characters  of  all  of  us,  just  as  it  is  with 

10 


ENTER   CHORUS 

our  faces  ?  No  face  remains  the  same  for  two  suc 
cessive  days — " 

"It  don't?"  Colonel  Flitcroft  interrupted,  with 
an  explosive  and  rueful  incredulity.  "Well,  I'd 
like  to—  Second  thoughts  came  to  him  almost 
immediately,  and,  as  much  out  of  gallantry  as 
through  discretion,  fearing  that  he  might  be  taken 
as  thinking  of  one  at  home,  he  relapsed  into 
silence. 

Not  so  with  the  others.  It  was  as  if  a  fire 
cracker  had  been  dropped  into  a  sleeping  poultry- 
yard.  Least  of  all  could  Mr.  Arp  contain  himself. 
At  the  top  of  his  voice,  necessarily,  he  agreed 
with  Roger  that  faces  changed,  not  only  from  day 
to  day,  and  not  only  because  of  light  and  air  and 
such  things,  but  from  hour  to  hour,  and  from 
minute  to  minute,  through  the  hideous  stimulus 
of  hypocrisy. 

The  "argument"  grew  heated;  half  a  dozen  tidy 
quarrels  arose;  all  the  sages  went  at  it  fiercely, 
except  Roger  Tabor,  who  stole  quietly  away. 
The  aged  men  were  enjoying  themselves  thoroughly, 
especially  those  who  quarrelled.  Naturally,  the 
frail  bark  of  the  topic  which  had  been  launched 
was  whirled  about  by  too  many  side-currents  to 
remain  long  in  sight,  and  soon  became  derelict, 
while  the  intellectual  dolphins  dove  and  tumbled 
in  the  depths.  At  the  end  of  twenty  minutes 

ii 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

Mr.  Arp  emerged  upon  the  surface,  and  in  his 
mouth  was  this: 

"Tell  me,  why  ain't  the  Church — why  ain't  the 
Church  and  the  rest  of  the  believers  in  a  future  life 
lookin'  for  immortality  at  the  other  end  of  life, 
too?  If  we're  immortal,  we  always  have  been; 
then  why  don't  they  ever  speculate  on  what  we 
were  before  we  were  born?  It's  because  they're 
too  blame  selfish  —  don't  care  a  flapdoodle  about 
what  was,  all  they  want  is  to  go  on  livin'  forever." 

Mr.  Arp's  voice  had  risen  to  an  acrid  trium- 
phancy,  when  it  suddenly  faltered,  relapsed  to  a 
murmur,  and  then  to  a  stricken  silence,  as  a  tall,  fat 
man  of  overpowering  aspect  threw  open  the  outer 
door  near  by  and  crossed  the  lobby  to  the  clerk's 
desk.  An  awe  fell  upon  the  sages  with  this  advent. 
They  were  hushed,  and  after  a  movement  in  their 
chairs,  with  a  strange  effect  of  huddling,  sat  dis 
concerted  and  attentive,  like  school-boys  at  the 
entrance  of  the  master. 

The  personage  had  a  big,  fat,  pink  face  and  a 
heavily  undershot  jaw,  what  whitish  beard  he  wore 
following  his  double  chin  somewhat  after  the  man 
ner  displayed  in  the  portraits  of  Henry  the  Eighth. 
His  eyes,  very  bright  under  puffed  upper  lids,  were 
intolerant  and  insultingly  penetrating  despite 
their  small  size.  Their  irritability  held  a  kind  of 
hotness,  and  yet  the  personage  exuded  frost,  not 

12 


ENTER   CHORUS 

of  the  weather,  all  about  him.  You  could  not 
imagine  man  or  angel  daring  to  greet  this  being 
genially — sooner  throw  a  kiss  to  Mount  Pilatus! 

"Mr.  Brown,"  he  said,  with  ponderous  hostility, 
in  a  bull  bass,  to  the  clerk  —  the  kind  of  voice 
which  would  have  made  an  express  train  leave  the 
track  and  go  round  the  other  way — "do  you  hear 
me?" 

"Oh  yes,  Judge,"  the  clerk  replied,  swiftly,  in 
tones  as  unlike  those  which  he  used  for  strange 
transients  as  a  collector's  voice  in  his  ladylove's 
ear  is  unlike  that  which  he  propels  at  delinquents. 

"Do  you  see  that  snow?"  asked  the  personage, 
threateningly. 

"Yes,  Judge."  Mr.  Brown  essayed  a  placating 
smile.  "Yes,  indeed,  Judge  Pike." 

"Has  your  employer,  the  manager  of  this  hotel, 
seen  that  snow?"  pursued  the  personage,  with  a 
gesture  of  unspeakable  solemn  menace. 

"Yes,  sir.     I  think  so.     Yes,  sir." 

"Do  you  think  he  fully  understands  that  I  am 
the  proprietor  of  this  building?" 

"Certainly,  Judge,  cer — 

"You  will  inform  him  that  I  do  not  intend  to 
be  discommoded  by  his  negligence  as  I  pass  to 
my  offices.  Tell  him  from  me  that  unless  he  keeps 
the  sidewalks  in  front  of  this  hotel  clear  of  snow  I 
will  cancel  his  lease.  Their  present  condition  is 

13 


THE    CONQUEST   OF    CANAAN 

outrageous.  Do  you  understand  me  ?  Outrageous! 
Do  you  hear?" 

"Yes,  Judge,  I  do  so,"  answered  the  clerk, 
hoarse  with  respect.  "  I'll  see  to  it  this  minute, 
Judge  Pike." 

"You  had  better."  The  personage  turned  him 
self  about  and  began  a  grim  progress  towards  the 
door  by  which  he  had  entered,  his  eyes  fixing 
themselves  angrily  upon  the  conclave  at  the  win 
dows. 

Colonel  Flitcroft  essayed  a  smile,  a  faltering  one. 

"Fine  weather,  Judge  Pike,"  he  said,  hopefully. 

There  was  no  response  of  any  kind ;  the  under 
shot  jaw  became  more  intolerant.  The  personage 
made  his  opinion  of  the  group  disconcertingly 
plain,  and  the  old  boys  understood  that  he  knew 
them  for  a  worthless  lot  of  senile  loafers,  as  great  a 
nuisance  in  his  building  as  was  the  snow  without; 
and  much  too  evident  was  his  unspoken  threat 
to  see  that  the  manager  cleared  them  out  of  there 
before  long. 

He  nodded  curtly  to  the  only  man  of  substance 
among  them,  Jonas  Tabor,  and  shut  the  door  be 
hind  him  with  majestic  insult.  He  was  Canaan's 
millionaire. 

He  was  one  of  those  dynamic  creatures  who 
leave  the  haunting  impression  of  their  wills  be 
hind  them,  like  the  tails  of  Bo-Peep's  sheep,  like 

14 


ENTER   CHORUS 

the  evil  dead  men  have  done ;  he  left  his  intolerant 
image  in  the  ether  for  a  long  time  after  he  had 
gone,  to  confront  and  confound  the  aged  men  and 
hold  them  in  deferential  and  humiliated  silence. 
Each  of  them  was  mysteriously  lowered  in  his  own 
estimation,  and  knew  that  he  had  been  made  to 
seem  futile  and  foolish  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellows. 
They  were  all  conscious,  too,  that  the  clerk  had 
been  acutely  receptive  of  Judge  Pike's  reading  of 
them ;  that  he  was  reviving  from  his  own  squelch- 
edness  through  the  later  snubbing  of  the  colonel; 
also  that  he  might  further  seek  to  recover  his 
poise  by  an  attack  on  them  for  cluttering  up  the 
office. 

Naturally,  Jonas  Tabor  was  the  first  to  speak. 
"Judge  Pike's  lookin'  mighty  well,"  he  said,  ad 
miringly. 

"Yes,  he  is,"  ventured  Squire  Buckalew,  with 
deference;  "mighty  well." 

"Yes,  sir,"  echoed  Peter  Bradbury;  "mighty 
well." 

"He's  a  great  man,"  wheezed  Uncle  Joe  Davey; 
"a  great  man,  Judge  Martin  Pike;  a  great  man!" 

"I  expect  he  has  considerable  on  his  mind," 
said  the  Colonel,  who  had  grown  very  red.  "  I 
noticed  that  he  hardly  seemed  to  see  us." 

"Yes,  sir,"  Mr.  Bradbury  corroborated,  with  an 
attempt  at  an  amused  laugh.  "  I  noticed  it,  too. 

15 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

Of  course  a  man  with  all  his  cares  and  interests 
must  git  absent-minded  now  and  then." 

"Of  course  he  does,"  said  the  colonel.  "A 
man  with  all  his  responsibilities." 

"Yes,  that's  so,"  came  a  chorus  of  the  brethren, 
finding  comfort  and  reassurance  as  their  voices  and 
spirits  began  to  recover  from  the  blight. 

"There's  a  party  at  the  Judge's  to-night,"  said 
Mr.  Bradbury — "  kind  of  a  ball  Mamie  Pike's  givin' 
for  the  young  folks.  Quite  a  doin's,  I  hear." 

"That's  another  thing  that's  ruining  Canaan," 
Mr.  Arp  declared,  morosely.  "These  entertain 
ments  they  have  nowadays.  Spend  all  the  money 
out  of  town  —  band  from  Indianapolis,  chicken 
salad  and  darkey  waiters  from  Chicago!  And 
what  I  want  to  know  is,  What's  this  town  goin'  to 
do  about  the  nigger  question?" 

"What  about  it?"  asked  Mr.  Davey,  belliger 
ently. 

"What  about  it?"  Mr.  Arp  mocked,  fiercely. 
"You  better  say,  'What  about  it?'" 

"Well,  what?"  maintained  Mr.  Davey,  stead 
fastly. 

"I'll  bet  there  ain't  any  less  than  four  thousand 
niggers  in  Canaan  to-day!"  Mr.  Arp  hammered 
the  floor  with  his  stick.  "  Every  last  one  of  'em 
criminals,  and  more  comin'  on  every  train." 

"No  such  a  thing,"  said  Squire  Buckalew,  living 
16 


ENTER   CHORUS 

up  to  his  bounden  duty.  "  You  look  down  the 
street.  There's  the  ten-forty-five  comin'  in  now. 
I'll  bet  you  a  straight  five-cent  Peek-a-Boo  cigar 
there  ain't  ary  nigger  on  the  whole  train,  except 
the  sleepin'-  car  porters." 

"What  kind  of  a  way  to  argue  is  that?"  de 
manded  Mr.  Arp,  hotly.  "  Bettin'  ain't  proof,  is 
it?  Besides,  that's  the  through  express  from  the 
East.  I  meant  trains  from  the  South." 

"You  didn't  say  so,"  retorted  Buckalew,  tri 
umphantly.  "Stick  to  your  bet,  Eskew,  stick  to 
your  bet." 

"My  bet!"  cried  the  outraged  Eskew.  "Who 
offered  to  bet?" 

"You  did,"  replied  the  Squire,  with  perfect 
assurance  and  sincerity.  The  others  supported 
him  in  the  heartiest  spirit  of  on-with-the-dance, 
and  war  and  joy  were  unconfined. 

A  decrepit  hack  or  two,  a  couple  of  old-fashion 
ed  surreys,  and  a  few  "cut-unders"  drove  by,  bear 
ing  the  newly  arrived  and  their  valises,  the  hotel 
omnibus  depositing  several  commercial  travellers 
at  the  door.  A  solitary  figure  came  from  the 
station  on  foot,  and  when  it  appeared  within  fair 
range  of  the  window,  Uncle  Joe  Davey,  who  had 
but  hovered  on  the  flanks  of  the  combat,  first  re 
moved  his  spectacles  and  wiped  them,  as  though 
distrusting  the  vision  they  offered  him,  then,  re- 

17 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

placing  them,  scanned  anew  the  approaching  figure 
and  uttered  a  smothered  cry. 

"My  Lord  A'mighty!"  he  gasped.  "What's 
this?  Look  there!" 

They  looked.  A  truce  came  involuntarily,  and 
they  sat  in  paralytic  silence  as  the  figure  made  its 
stately  and  sensational  progress  along  Main  Street. 

Not  only  the  aged  men  were  smitten.  Men 
shovelling  snow  from  the  pavements  stopped  sud 
denly  in  their  labors;  two  women,  talking  busily 
on  a  doorstep,  were  stilled  and  remained  in  frozen 
attitudes  as  it  passed;  a  grocer's  clerk,  crossing 
the  pavement,  carrying  a  heavily  laden  basket  to 
his  delivery  wagon,  halted  half-way  as  the  figure 
came  near,  and  then,  making  a  pivot  of  his  heels 
as  it  went  by,  behaved  towards  it  as  does  the 
magnetic  needle  to  the  pole. 

It  was  that  of  a  tall  gentleman,  cheerfully,  though 
somewhat  with  ennui,  enduring  his  nineteenth 
winter.  His  long  and  slender  face  he  wore  smiling, 
beneath  an  accurately  cut  plaster  of  dark  hair 
cornicing  his  forehead,  a  fashion  followed  by  many 
youths  of  that  year.  This  perfect  bang  was  shown 
under  a  round  black  hat  whose  rim  was  so  small  as 
almost  not  to  be  there  at  all;  and  the  head  was 
supported  by  a  waxy -white  sea-wall  of  collar, 
rising  three  inches  above  the  blue  billows  of  a  puffed 
cravat,  upon  which  floated  a  large,  hollow  pearl. 

18 


ENTER    CHORUS 

His  ulster,  sporting  a  big  cape  at  the  shoulders, 
and  a  tasselled  hood  over  the  cape,  was  of  a  rough 
Scotch  cloth,  patterned  in  faint,  gray-and-white 
squares  the  size  of  baggage-checks,  and  it  was  so 
long  that  the  skirts  trailed  in  the  snow.  His  legs 
were  lost  in  the  accurately  creased,  voluminous 
garments  that  were  the  tailors'  canny  reaction 
from  the  tight  trousers  with  which  the  'Eighties  had 
begun:  they  were,  in  color,  a  palish  russet,  broadly 
striped  with  gray,  and,  in  size,  surpassed  the  milder 
spirit  of  fashion  so  far  as  they  permitted  a  liberal 
knee  action  to  take  place  almost  without  super 
ficial  effect.  Upon  his  feet  glistened  long  shoes, 
shaped,  save  for  the  heels,  like  sharp  racing-shells; 
these  were  partially  protected  by  tan-colored  low 
gaiters  with  flat,  shiny,  brown  buttons.  In  one 
hand  the  youth  swung  a.  bone-handled  walking- 
stick,  perhaps  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  the 
other  carried  a  yellow  leather  banjo-case,  upon  the 
outer  side  of  which  glittered  the  embossed-silver 
initials,  "  E.  B."  He  was  smoking,  but  walked 
with  his  head  up,  making  use,  however,  of  a  gait  at 
that  time  new  to  Canaan,  a  seeming  superbly 
irresponsible  lounge,  engendering  much  motion 
of  the  shoulders,  producing  an  effect  of  carelessness 
combined  with  independence — an  effect  which  the 
innocent  have  been  known  to  hail  as  an  uncon 
scious  one. 

19 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

He  looked  about  him  as  he  came,  smilingly,  with 
an  expression  of  princely  amusement — as  an  elder 
ly  cabinet  minister,  say,  strolling  about  a  village 
where  he  had  spent  some  months  in  his  youth,  a 
hamlet  which  he  had  then  thought  large  and  im 
posing,  but  which,  being  revisited  after  years  of 
cosmopolitan  glory,  appeals  to  his  whimsy  and  his 
pity.  The  youth's  glance  at  the  court-house  un 
mistakably  said:  "Ah,  I  recall  that  odd  little  box. 
I  thought  it  quite  large  in  the  days  before  I  be 
came  what  I  am  now,  and  I  dare  say  the  good 
townsfolk  still  think  it  an  imposing  structure!" 
With  everything  in  sight  he  deigned  to  be  amused, 
especially  with  the  old  faces  in  the  "  National 
House  "  windows.  To  these  he  waved  his  stick 
with  airy  graciousness. 

"My  soul!"  said  Mr.  Davey.  "It  seems  to 
know  some  of  us!" 

"Yes,"  agreed  Mr.  Arp,  his  voice  recovered, 
"and/  know  it." 

"You  do?"  exclaimed  the  Colonel. 

"  I  do,  and  so  do  you.  It's  Fanny  Louden's  boy, 
'Gene,  come  home  for  his  Christmas  holidays." 

"By  George!  you're  right,"  cried  Flitcroft;  "I 
recognize  him  now." 

"But  what's  the  matter  with  him?"  asked  Mr. 
Bradbury,  eagerly.  "  Has  he  joined  some  patent- 
medicine  troupe?" 

20 


ENTER    CHORUS 

"Not  a  bit,"  replied  Eskew.  "He  went  East 
to  college  last  fall." 

"Do  they  make  the  boys  wear  them  clothes?" 
persisted  Bradbury.  "  Is  it  some  kind  of  uniform  ?" 

"  I  don't  care  what  it  is,"  said  Jonas  Tabor.  "  If 
I  was  Henry  Louden  I  wouldn't  let  him  wear  'em 
around  here." 

"Oh,  you  wouldn't,  wouldn't  you,  Jonas?"  Mr. 
Arp  employed  the  accents  of  sarcasm.  "I'd  like  to 
see  Henry  Louden  try  to  interfere  with  'Gene 
Bantry.  Fanny'd  lock  the  old  fool  up  in  the 
cellar." 

The  lofty  vision  lurched  out  of  view. 

"I  reckon,"  said  the  Colonel,  leaning  forward  to 
see  the  last  of  it — "  I  reckon  Henry  Louden's  about 
the  saddest  case  of  abused  step-father  I  ever  saw." 

"It's  his  own  fault,"  said  Mr.  Arp — "twice  not 
havin'  sense  enough  not  to  marry.  Him  with  a 
son  of  his  own,  too!" 

"Yes,"  assented  the  Colonel,  "marryin'  a  widow 
with  a  son  of  her  own,  and  that  widow  Fanny!" 

"  Wasn't  it  just  the  same  with  her  first  husband 
— Bantry?"  Mr.  Davey  asked,  not  for  information, 
as  he  immediately  answered  himself.  "You  bet 
it  was!  Didn't  she  always  rule  the  roost?  Yes, 
she  did.  She  made  a  god  of  'Gene  from  the  day 
he  was  born.  Bantry's  house  was  run  for  him,  like 
Louden's  is  now." 

21 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"And  look,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Arp,  with  satisfac 
tion,  "at  the  way  he's  turned  out!" 

"  He  ain't  turned  out  at  all  yet;  he's  too  young," 
said  Buckalew.  "  Besides,  clothes  don't  make  the 
man." 

"Wasn't  he  smokin'  a  cigareet!"  cried  Eskew, 
triumphantly.  This  was  final. 

"  It's  a  pity  Henry  Louden  can't  do  something 
for  his  own  son,"  said  Mr.  Bradbury.  "Why  don't 
he  send  him  away  to  college?" 

"Fanny  won't  let  him,"  chuckled  Mr.  Arp, 
malevolently.  "Takes  all  their  spare  change  to 
keep  'Gene  there  in  style.  I  don't  blame  her. 
'Gene  certainly  acts  the  fool,  but  that  Joe  Louden 
is  the  orneriest  boy  I  ever  saw  in  an  ornery  world- 
full." 

"He  always  was  kind  of  mischeevous,"  admitted 
Buckalew.  "  I  don't  think  he's  mean,  though,  and 
it  does  seem  kind  of  not  just  right  that  Joe's  father's 
money  —  Bantry  didn't  leave  anything  to  speak 
of — has  to  go  to  keepin'  'Gene  on  the  fat  of  the 
land,  with  Joe  gittin'  up  at  half -past  four  to  carry 
papers,  and  him  goin'  on  nineteen  years  old." 

"It's  all  he's  fit  for!"  exclaimed  Eskew.  "He's 
low  down,  I  tell  ye.  Ain't  it  only  last  week  Judge 
Pike  caught  him  shootin'  craps  with  Pike's  nigger 
driver  and  some  other  nigger  hired -men  in  the 
alley  back  of  Pike's  barn." 

22 


ENTER   CHORUS 

Mr.  Schindlinger,  the  retired  grocer,  one  of  the 
silent  members,  corroborated  Eskew's  information. 
"I  heert  dot,  too,"  he  gave  forth,  in  his  fat  voice. 
"  He  blays  dominoes  pooty  often  in  der  room  back 
off  Louie  Farbach's  tsaloon.  I  see  him  myself. 
Pooty  often.  Blayin'  fer  a  leedle  money  —  mit 
loafers!  Loafers!" 

"Pretty  outlook  for  the  Loudens!"  said  Eskew 
Arp,  much  pleased.  "One  boy  a  plum  fool  and 
dressed  like  it,  the  other  gone  to  the  dogs  already!" 

"What  could  you  expect  Joe  to  be?"  retorted 
Squire  Buckalew.  "What  chance  has  he  ever 
had?  Long  as  I  can  remember  Fanny's  made 
him  fetch  and  carry  for  'Gene.  'Gene's  had  every 
thing — all  the  fancy  clothes,  all  the  pocket-money, 
and  now  college!" 

"You  ever  hear  that  boy  Joe  talk  politics?" 
asked  Uncle  Joe  Davey,  crossing  a  cough  with  a 
chuckle.  "His  head's  so  full  of  schemes  fer  run 
ning  this  town,  and  state,  too,  it's  a  wonder  it  don't 
bust.  Henry  Louden  told  me  he's  see  Joe  set 
around  and  study  by  the  hour  how  to  save  three 
million  dollars  for  the  state  in  two  years." 

"And  the  best  he  can  do  for  himself,"  added 
Eskew,  "  is  deliverin'  the  Daily  Tocsin  on  a  second 
hand  Star  bicycle  and  gamblin'  with  niggers  and 
riff-raff!  None  of  the  nice  young  folks  invite  him 
to  their  doin's  any  more." 
3  23 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"That's  because  he's  got  so  shabby  he's  quit 
goin'  with  em,"  said  Buckalew. 

"No,  it  ain't,"  snapped  Mr.  Arp.  "It's  be 
cause  he's  so  low  down.  He's  no  more  'n  a  town 
outcast.  There  ain't  ary  one  of  the  girls  '11  have 
a  thing  to  do  with  him,  except  that  rip-rarin'  tom 
boy  next  door  to  Louden's;  and  the  others  don't 
have  much  to  do  with  her,  neither,  I  can  tell  ye. 
That  Arie  Tabor—" 

Colonel  Flitcroft  caught  him  surreptitiously  by 
the  arm.  "Sh,  Eskew!"  he  whispered.  "Look 
out  what  you're  sayin'!" 

"You  needn't  mind  me,"  Jonas  Tabor  spoke  up, 
crisply.  "  I  washed  my  hands  of  all  responsibility 
for  Roger's  branch  of  the  family  long  ago.  Never 
was  one  of  'em  had  the  energy  or  brains  to  make 
a  decent  livin',  beginning  with  Roger;  not  one 
worth  his  salt!  I  set  Roger's  son  up  in  business, 
and  all  the  return  he  ever  made  me  was  to  go  into 
bankruptcy  and  take  to  drink,  till  he  died  a  sot, 
like  his  wife  did  of  shame.  I  done  all  I  could 
when  I  handed  him  over  my  store,  and  I  never 
expect  to  lift  a  finger  for  'em  again.  Ariel  Tabor's 
my  grandniece,  but  she  didn't  act  like  it,  and  you 
can  say  anything  you  like  about  her,  for  what  I 
care.  The  last  time  I  spoke  to  her  was  a  year 
and  a  half  ago,  and  I  don't  reckon  I'll  ever  trouble 
to  again." 

24 


ENTER   CHORUS 

"How  was  that,  Jonas?"  quickly  inquired  Mr. 
Davey,  who,  being  the  eldest  of  the  party,  was  the 
most  curious.  "What  happened?" 

"She  was  out  in  the  street,  up  on  that  high 
bicycle  of  Joe  Louden's.  He  was  teachin'  her  to 
ride,  and  she  was  sittin'  on  it  like  a  man  does.  I 
stopped  and  told  her  she  wasn't  respectable. 
Sixteen  years  old,  goin'  on  seventeen!" 

"What  did  she  say?" 

"Laughed,"  said  Jonas,  his  voice  becoming 
louder  as  the  recital  of  his  wrongs  renewed  their 
sting  in  his  soul.  "Laughed!" 

"What  did  you  do?" 

"I  went  up  to  her  and  told  her  she  wasn't  a 
decent  girl,  and  shook  the  wheel."  Mr.  Tabor 
illustrated  by  seizing  the  lapels  of  Joe  Davey  and 
shaking  him.  "  I  told  her  if  her  grandfather  had 
any  spunk  she'd  git  an  old-fashioned  hidin'  for  be- 
havin'  that  way.  And  I  shook  the  wheel  again." 
Here  Mr.  Tabor,  forgetting  in  the  wrath  incited 
by  the  recollection  that  he  had  not  to  do  with  an 
inanimate  object,  swung  the  gasping  and  helpless 
Mr.  Davey  rapidly  back  and  forth  in  his  chair. 
"I  shook  it  good  and  hard!" 

"What  did  she  do  then?"  asked  Peter  Brad 
bury. 

"Fell  off  on  me,"  replied  Jonas,  violently.  "On 
purpose!" 

25 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"I  wisht  she'd  killed  ye,"  said  Mr.  Davey,  in  a 
choking  voice,  as,  released,  he  sank  back  in  his 
chair. 

"On  purpose!"  repeated  Jonas.  "And  smashed 
a  straw  hat  I  hadn't  had  three  months!  All  to 
pieces!  So  it  couldn't  be  fixed!" 

"And  what  then?"  pursued  Bradbury. 

" She  ran,"  replied  Jonas,  bitterly — "ran!  And 
Joe  Louden — Joe  Louden — "  He  paused  and 
gulped. 

"What  did  he  do?"  Peter  leaned  forward  in 
his  chair  eagerly. 

The  narrator  of  the  outrage  gulped  again,  and 
opened  and  shut  his  mouth  before  responding. 

"  He  said  if  I  didn't  pay  for  a  broken  spoke  on 
his  wheel  he'd  have  to  sue  me!" 

No  one  inquired  if  Jonas  had  paid,  and  Jonas 
said  no  more.  The  recollection  of  his  wrongs, 
together  with  the  illustrative  violence  offered  to 
Mr.  Davey,  had  been  too  much  for  him.  He  sank 
back,  panting,  in  his  chair,  his  hands  fluttering 
nervously  over  his  heart,  and  closed  his  eyes. 

"I  wonder  why,"  ruminated  Mr.  Bradbury — "I 
wonder  why  'Gene  Bantry  walked  up  from  the 
deepo.  Don't  seem  much  like  his  style.  Should 
think  he'd  of  rode  up  in  a  hack. 

"Sho!"  said  Uncle  Joe  Davey,  his  breath  re 
covered.  "He  wanted  to  walk  up  past  Judge 

26 


ENTER   CHORUS 

Pike's,  to  see  if  there  wasn't  a  show  of  Mamie's 
bein'  at  the  window,  and  give  her  a  chance  to  look 
at  that  college  uniform  and  banjo-box  and  new 
walk  of  his." 

Mr.  Arp  began  to  show  signs  of  uneasiness. 

"I'd  like  mighty  well  to  know,"  he  said,  shift 
ing  round  in  his  chair,  "if  there's  anybody  here 
that's  been  able  to  answer  the  question  I  put, 
yesterday,  just  before  we  went  home.  You  all 
tried  to,  but  I  didn't  hear  anything  I  could  con 
sider  anyways  near  even  a  fair  argument." 

"Who  tried  to?"  asked  Buckalew,  sharply,  sit 
ting  up  straight.  "What  question?" 

"What  proof  can  you  bring  me,"  began  Mr. 
Arp,  deliberately,  "that  we  folks,  modernly,  ain't 
more  degenerate  than  the  ancient  Romans?" 


II 

A   RESCUE 

IAIN  STREET,  already  muffled  by 
the  snow,  added  to  its  quietude  a 
frozen  hush  where  the  wonder-bear 
ing  youth  pursued  his  course  along 
its  white,  straight  way.  None  was 
there  in  whom  impertinence  overmastered  aston 
ishment,  or  who  recovered  from  the  sight  in  time 
to  jeer  with  effect;  no  "Trab's  boy"  gathered 
courage  to  enact  in  the  thoroughfare  a  scene  of 
mockery  and  of  joy.  Leaving  business  at  a  tem 
porary  stand-still  behind  him,  Mr.  Bantry  swept 
his  long  coat  steadily  over  the  snow  and  soon 
emerged  upon  that  part  of  the  street  where  the 
mart  gave  way  to  the  home.  The  comfortable 
houses  stood  pleasantly  back  from  the  street,  with 
plenty  of  lawn  and  shrubbery  about  them;  and 
often,  along  the  picket-fences,  the  laden  branches 
of  small  cedars,  bending  low  with  their  burden, 
showered  the  young  man's  swinging  shoulders 
glitteringly  as  he  brushed  by. 

28 


A  RESCUE 

And  now  that  expression  he  wore — the  indulgent 
amusement  of  a  man  of  the  world — began  to  dis 
integrate  and  show  signs  of  change.  It  became 
finely  grave,  as  of  a  high  conventionality,  lofty, 
assured,  and  mannered,  as  he  approached  the  Pike 
mansion.  (The  remotest  stranger  must  at  once 
perceive  that  the  Canaan  papers  could  not  have 
called  it  otherwise  without  pain.) 

It  was  a  big,  smooth-stone-faced  house,  prod 
uct  of  the  'Seventies,  frowning  under  an  outra 
geously  insistent  mansard,  capped  by  a  cupola, 
and  staring  out  of  long  windows  overtopped  with 
"ornamental"  slabs.  Two  cast-iron  deer,  painted 
death-gray,  twins  of  the  same  mould,  stood  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  front  walk,  their  backs  towards 
it  and  each  other,  their  bodies  in  profile  to  the 
street,  their  necks  bent,  however,  so  that  they 
gazed  upon  the  passer-by  —  yet  gazed  without 
emotion.  Two  large,  calm  dogs  guarded  the  top 
of  the  steps  leading  to  the  front-door;  they  also 
were  twins  and  of  the  same  interesting  metal, 
though  honored  beyond  the  deer  by  coats  of  black 
paint  and  shellac.  It  was  to  be  remarked  that 
these  dogs  were  of  no  distinguishable  species  or 
breed,  yet  they  were  unmistakably  dogs;  the 
dullest  must  have  recognized  them  as  such  at  a 
glance,  which  was,  perhaps,  enough.  It  was  a 
hideous  house,  important-looking,  cold,  yet  harsh- 

29 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

ly  aggressive,  a  house  whose  exterior  provoked  a 
shuddering  guess  of  the  brass  lambrequins  and 
plush  fringes  within;  a  solid  house,  obviously — 
nay,  blatantly — the  residence  of  the  principal  citi 
zen,  whom  it  had  grown  to  resemble,  as  is  the 
impish  habit  of  houses;  and  it  sat  in  the  middle 
of  its  flat  acre  of  snowy  lawn  like  a  rich,  fat  man 
enraged  and  sitting  straight  up  in  bed  to  swear. 

And  yet  there  was  one  charming  thing  about  this 
ugly  house.  Some  workmen  were  enclosing  a  large 
side  porch  with  heavy  canvas,  evidently  for  festal 
purposes.  Looking  out  from  between  two  strips 
of  the  canvas  was  the  rosy  and  delicate  face  of  a 
pretty  girl,  smiling  upon  Eugene  Bantry  as  he 
passed.  It  was  an  obviously  pretty  face,  all  the 
youth  and  prettiness  there  for  your  very  first 
glance;  elaborately  pretty,  like  the  splendid  pro 
fusion  of  hair  about  and  above  it — amber-colored 
hair,  upon  which  so  much  time  had  been  spent  that 
a  circle  of  large,  round  curls  rose  above  the  mass  of 
it  like  golden  bubbles  tipping  a  coronet. 

The  girl's  fingers  were  pressed  thoughtfully 
against  her  chin  as  Eugene  strode  into  view;  im 
mediately  her  eyes  widened  and  brightened.  He 
swung  along  the  fence  with  the  handsomest  ap 
pearance  of  unconsciousness,  until  he  reached  a 
point  nearly  opposite  her.  Then  he  turned  his 
head,  as  if  haphazardly,  and  met  her  eyes.  At  once 

30 


A  RESCUE 

she  threw  out  her  hand  towards  him,  waving  him 
a  greeting — a  gesture  which,  as  her  fingers  had  been 
near  her  lips,  was  a  little  like  throwing  a  kiss.  He 
crooked  an  elbow  and  with  a  one-two-three  military 
movement  removed  his  small  -  brimmed  hat,  ex 
tended  it  to  full  arm's-length  at  the  shoulder-level, 
returned  it  to  his  head  with  Life-Guard  precision. 
This  was  also  new  to  Canaan.  He  was  letting 
Mamie  Pike  have  it  all  at  once. 

The  impression  was  as  large  as  he  could  have 
desired.  She  remained  at  the  opening  in  the  can 
vas  and  watched  him  until  he  wagged  his  shoulders 
round  the  next  corner  and  disappeared  into  a  cross 
street.  As  for  Eugene,  he  was  calm  with  a  great 
calm,  and  very  red. 

He  had  not  covered  a  great  distance,  however, 
before  his  gravity  was  replaced  by  his  former  smil 
ing  look  of  the  landed  gentleman  amused  by  the 
innocent  pastimes  of  the  peasants,  though  there 
was  no  one  in  sight  except  a  woman  sweeping  some 
snow  from  the  front  steps  of  a  cottage,  and  she, 
not  perceiving  him,  retired  in-doors  without  know 
ing  her  loss.  He  had  come  to  a  thinly  built  part 
of  the  town,  the  perfect  quiet  of  which  made  the 
sound  he  heard  as  he  opened  the  picket  gate  of 
his  own  home  all  the  more  startling.  It  was  a 
scream — loud,  frantic,  and  terror-stricken. 

Eugene  stopped,  with  the  gate  half  open. 
3' 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

Out  of  the  winter  skeleton  of  a  grape-arbor  at 
one  side  of  the  four-square  brick  house  a  brown- 
faced  girl  of  seventeen  precipitated  herself  through 
the  air  in  the  midst  of  a  shower  of  torn  card-board 
which  she  threw  before  her  as  she  leaped.  She  lit 
upon  her  toes  and  headed  for  the  gate  at  top  speed, 
pursued  by  a  pale  young  man  whose  thin  arms 
strove  spasmodically  to  reach  her.  Scattering 
snow  behind  them,  hair  flying,  the  pair  sped  on 
like  two  tattered  branches  before  a  high  wind ;  for, 
as  they  came  nearer  Eugene  (of  whom,  in  the 
tensity  of  their  flight,  they  took  no  note),  it  was 
to  be  seen  that  both  were  so  shabbily  dressed  as 
to  be  almost  ragged.  There  was  a  brown  patch 
upon  the  girl's  faded  skirt  at  the  knee;  the  short 
ness  of  the  garment  indicating  its  age  to  be  some 
thing  over  three  years,  as  well  as  permitting  the 
knowledge  to  become  more  general  than  befitting 
that  her  cotton  stockings  had  been  clumsily  darned 
in  several  places.  Her  pursuer  was  in  as  evil  case ; 
his  trousers  displayed  a  tendency  to  fringedness  at 
pocket  and  heel;  his  coat,  blowing  open  as  he  ran, 
threw  pennants  of  torn  lining  to  the  breeze,  and 
made  it  too  plain  that  there  were  but  three  buttons 
on  his  waistcoat. 

The  girl  ran  beautifully,  but  a  fleeter  foot  was 
behind  her,  and  though  she  dodged  and  evaded 
like  a  creature  of  the  woods,  the  reaching  hand 

32 


A  RESCUE 

fell  upon  the  loose  sleeve  of  her  red  blouse,  nor  fell 
lightly.  She  gave  a  wrench  of  frenzy ;  the  antique 
fabric  refused  the  strain;  parted  at  the  shoulder 
seam  so  thoroughly  that  the  whole  sleeve  came 
away — but  not  to  its  owner's  release,  for  she  had 
been  brought  round  by  the  jerk,  so  that,  agile  as 
she  had  shown  herself,  the  pursuer  threw  an  arm 
about  her  neck,  before  she  could  twist  away,  and 
held  her. 

There  was  a  sharp  struggle,  as  short  as  it  was 
fierce.  Neither  of  these  extraordinary  wrestlers 
spoke.  They  fought.  Victory  hung  in  the  bal 
ance  for  perhaps  four  seconds;  then  the  girl  was 
thrown  heavily  upon  her  back,  in  such  a  turmoil 
of  snow  that  she  seemed  to  be  the  mere  nucleus  of  a 
white  comet.  She  struggled  to  get  up,  plying  knee 
and  elbow  with  a  very  anguish  of  determination; 
but  her  opponent  held  her,  pinioned  both  her 
wrists  with  one  hand,  and  with  the  other  rubbed 
great  handfuls  of  snow  into  her  face,  sparing 
neither  mouth  nor  eyes. 

"You  will!"  he  cried.  "You  will  tear  up  my 
pictures!  A  dirty  trick,  and  you  get  washed  for 
it!" 

Half  suffocated,  choking,  gasping,  she  still 
fought  on,  squirming  and  kicking  with  such  spirit 
that  the  pair  of  them  appeared  to  the  beholder 
like  figures  of  mist  writhing  in  a  fountain  of  snow. 

33 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

More  violence  was  to  mar  the  peace  of  morning. 
Unexpectedly  attacked  from  the  rear,  the  con 
queror  was  seized  by  the  nape  of  the  neck  and  one 
wrist,  and  jerked  to  his  feet,  simultaneously  re 
ceiving  a  succession  of  kicks  from  his  assailant. 
Prompted  by  an  entirely  natural  curiosity,  he  es 
sayed  to  turn  his  head  to  see  who  this  might  be, 
but  a  twist  of  his  forearm  and  the  pressure  of  strong 
fingers  under  his  ear  constrained  him  to  remain 
as  he  was;  therefore,  abandoning  resistance,  and, 
oddly  enough,  accepting  without  comment  the 
indication  that  his  captor  desired  to  remain  for 
the  moment  incognito,  he  resorted  calmly  to  ex 
planations. 

"She  tore  up  a  picture  of  mine,"  he  said,  re 
ceiving  the  punishment  without  apparent  emotion. 
"She  seemed  to  think  because  she'd  drawn  it  her 
self  she  had  a  right  to." 

There  was  a  slight  whimsical  droop  at  the  corner 
of  his  mouth  as  he  spoke,  which  might  have  been 
thought  characteristic  of  him.  He  was  an  odd- 
looking  boy,  not  ill-made,  though  very  thin  and 
not  tall.  His  pallor  was  clear  and  even,  as  though 
constitutional;  the  features  were  delicate,  almost 
childlike,  but  they  were  very  slightly  distorted, 
through  nervous  habit,  to  an  expression  at  once 
wistful  and  humorous;  one  eyebrow  was  a  shade 
higher  than  the  other,  one  side  of  the  mouth  slightly 

34 


A  RESCUE 

drawn  down;  the  eyelids  twitched  a  little,  habitu 
ally;  the  fine,  blue  eyes  themselves  were  almost 
comically  reproachful — the  look  of  a  puppy  who 
thinks  you  would  not  have  beaten  him  if  you  had 
known  what  was  in  his  heart.  All  of  this  was  in 
the  quality  of  his  voice,  too,  as  he  said  to  his  in 
visible  captor,  with  an  air  of  detachment  from  any 
personal  feeling: 

"What  peculiar  shoes  you  wear!  I  don't  think 
I  ever  felt  any  so  pointed  before." 

The  rescuing  knight  took  no  thought  of  offering  to 
help  the  persecuted  damsel  to  arise;  instead,  he 
tightened  his  grip  upon  the  prisoner's  neck  until, 
perforce,  water — not  tears — started  from  the  lat- 
ter's  eyes. 

"You  miserable  little  muff,"  said  the  conqueror, 
"what  the  devil  do  you  mean,  making  this  scene 
on  our  front  lawn?" 

"Why,  it's  Eugene!"  exclaimed  the  helpless  one. 
"They  didn't  expect  you  till  to-night.  When  did 
you  get  in?" 

"Just  in  time  to  give  you  a  lesson,  my  buck," 
replied  Bantry,  grimly.  "In  good  time  for  that, 
my  playful  step-brother." 

He  began  to  twist  the  other's  wrist — a  treatment 
of  bone  and  ligament  in  the  application  of  which 
school -boys  and  even  freshmen  are  often  adept. 
Eugene  made  the  torture  acute,  and  was  apparently 

35 


THE  CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

enjoying  the  work,  when  suddenly — without  any 
manner  of  warning  —  he  received  an  astounding 
blow  upon  the  left  ear,  which  half  stunned  him 
for  the  moment,  and  sent  his  hat  flying  and  himself 
reeling,  so  great  was  the  surprise  and  shock  of  it. 
It  was  not  a  slap,  not  an  open-handed  push,  noth 
ing  like  it,  but  a  fierce,  well-delivered  blow  from  a 
clinched  fist  with  the  shoulder  behind  it,  and  it 
was  the  girl  who  had  given  it. 

"Don't  you  dare  to  touch  Joe!"  she  cried,  pas 
sionately.  "  Don't  you  lay  a  finger  on  him." 

Furious  and  red,  he  staggered  round  to  look  at 
her. 

"You  wretched  little  wild-cat,  what  do  you  mean 
by  that?"  he  broke  out. 

"Don't  you  touch  Joe!"  she  panted.  "Don't 
you — "  Her  breath  caught  and  there  was  a  break 
in  her  voice  as  she  faced  him.  She  could  not  finish 
the  repetition  of  that  cry,  "Don't  you  touch  Joe!" 

But  there  was  no  break  in  the  spirit,  that  passion 
of  protection  which  had  dealt  the  blow.  Both  boys 
looked  at  her,  something  aghast. 

She  stood  before  them,  trembling  with  rage  and 
shivering  with  cold  in  the  sudden  wind  which  had 
come  up.  Her  hair  had  fallen  and  blew  across 
her  streaming  face  in  brown  witch-wisps;  one  of 
the  ill-darned  stockings  had  come  down  and  hung 
about  her  shoe  in  folds  full  of  snow ;  the  arm  which 

36 


A  RESCUE 

had  lost  its  sleeve  was  bare  and  wet;  thin  as  the 
arm  of  a  growing  boy,  it  shook  convulsively,  and 
was  red  from  shoulder  to  clinched  fist.  She  was 
covered  with  snow.  Mists  of  white  drift  blew 
across  her,  mercifully  half  veiling  her. 

Eugene  recovered  himself.  He  swung  round 
upon  his  heel,  restored  his  hat  to  his  head  with 
precision,  picked  up  his  stick  and  touched  his 
banjo-case  with  it. 

"Carry  that  into  the  house,"  he  said,  indiffer 
ently,  to  his  step-brother. 

"Don't  you  do  it!"  said  the  girl,  hotly,  between 
her  chattering  teeth. 

Eugene  turned  towards  her,  wearing  the  sharp 
edge  of  a  smile.  Not  removing  his  eyes  from  her 
face,  he  produced  with  deliberation  a  flat  silver 
box  from  a  pocket,  took  therefrom  a  cigarette,  re 
placed  the  box,  extracted  a  smaller  silver  box  from 
another  pocket,  shook  out  of  it  a  fusee,  slowly  lit 
the  cigarette — this  in  a  splendid  silence,  which  he 
finally  broke  to  say,  languidly,  but  with  particular 
distinctness : 

"Ariel  Tabor,  go  home!" 

The  girl's  teeth  stopped  chattering,  her  lips  re 
maining  parted ;  she  shook  the  hair  out  of  her  eyes 
and  stared  at  him  as  if  she  did  not  understand,  but 
Joe  Louden,  who  had  picked  up  the  banjo-case  obe 
diently,  burst  into  cheerful  laughter. 

37 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"That's  it,  'Gene, "  he  cried,  gayly.  " That's  the 
way  to  talk  to  her!" 

"Stow  it,  you  young  cub,"  replied  Eugene,  not 
turning  to  him.  "Do  you  think  I'm  trying  to  be 
amusing?" 

" I  don't  know  what  you  mean  by  ' stow  it,'"  Joe 
began,  "but  if—" 

"I  mean,"  interrupted  the  other,  not  relaxing 
his  faintly  smiling  stare  at  the  girl — "  I  mean  that 
Ariel  Tabor  is  to  go  home.  Really,  we  can't  have 
this  kind  of  thing  occurring  upon  our  front  lawn!" 

The  flush  upon  her  wet  cheeks  deepened  and  be 
came  dark;  even  her  arm  grew  redder  as  she  gazed 
back  at  him.  In  his  eyes  was  patent  his  complete 
realization  of  the  figure  she  cut,  of  this  bare  arm, 
of  the  strewn  hair,  of  the  fallen  stocking,  of  the 
ragged  shoulder  of  her  blouse,  of  her  patched  short 
skirt,  of  the  whole  dishevelled  little  figure.  He 
was  the  master  of  the  house,  and  he  was  sending 
her  home  as  ill-behaved  children  are  sent  home  by 
neighbors. 

The  immobile,  amused  superiority  of  this  pro 
prietor  of  silver  boxes,  this  wearer  of  strange  and 
brilliant  garments,  became  slightly  intensified  as 
he  pointed  to  the  fallen  sleeve,  a  rag  of  red  and 
snow,  lying  near  her  feet. 

"You  might  take  that  with  you?"  he  said,  in 
terrogatively, 

38 


A  RESCUE 

Her  gaze  had  not  wavered  in  meeting  his,  but 
at  this  her  eyelashes  began  to  wink  uncontrollably, 
her  chin  to  tremble.  She  bent  over  the  sleeve  and 
picked  it  up,  before  Joe  Louden,  who  had  started 
towards  her,  could  do  it  for  her.  Then  turning, 
her  head  still  bent  so  that  her  face  was  hidden 
from  both  of  them,  she  ran  out  of  the  gate. 

"  Do  go !"  Joe  called  after  her,  vehemently.  "  Go  I 
Just  to  show  what  a  fool  you  are  to  think  'Gene's 
in  earnest." 

He  would  have  followed,  but  his  step -brother 
caught  him  by  the  arm.  "Don't  stop  her,"  said 
Eugene.  "Can't  you  tell  when  I  am  in  earnest, 
you  bally  muff.'" 

"I  know  you  are,"  returned  the  other,  in  a  low 
voice.  "I  didn't  want  her  to  think  so  for  your 
sake." 

"Thousands  of  thanks,"  said  Eugene,  airily. 
"  You  are  a  wise  young  judge.  She  couldn't  stay — 
in  that  state,  could  she?  I  sent  her  for  her  own 
good." 

"She  could  have  gone  in  the  house  and  your 
mother  might  have  loaned  her  a  jacket,"  returned 
Joe,  swallowing.  "You  had  no  business  to  make 
her  go  out  in  the  street  like  that." 

Eugene  laughed.  "There  isn't  a  soul  in  sight 
— and  there,  she's  all  right  now.  She's  home." 

Ariel  had  run  along  the  fence  until  she  came  to 
*  39 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

the  next  gate,  which  opened  upon  a  walk  leading 
to  a  shabby,  meandering  old  house  of  one  story, 
with  a  very  long,  low  porch,  once  painted  white, 
running  the  full  length  of  the  front.  Ariel  sprang 
upon  the  porch  and  disappeared  within  the  house. 

Joe  stood  looking  after  her,  his  eyelashes  wink 
ing  as  had  hers.  "You  oughtn't  to  have  treated 
her  that  way,"  he  said,  huskily. 

Eugene  laughed  again.  "  How  were  you  treat 
ing  her  when  I  came  up?  You  bully  her  all  you 
want  to  yourself,  but  nobody  else  must  say  even 
a  fatherly  word  to  her!" 

"That  wasn't  bullying,"  explained  Joe.  "We 
fight  all  the  time." 

"Mais  oui!"  assented  Eugene.     "I  fancy!" 

"What?"  said  the  other,  blankly. 

"Pick  up  that  banjo-case  again  and  come  on," 
commanded  Mr.  Bantry,  tartly.  "Where's  the 
mater?" 

Joe  stared  at  him.     "Where's  what?" 

"The  mater!"  was  the  frowning  reply. 

"Oh  yes,  I  know!"  said  Joe,  looking  at  his  step 
brother  curiously.  "  I've  seen  it  in  stories.  She's 
up-stairs.  You'll  be  a  surprise.  You're  wearing 
lots  of  clothes,  'Gene." 

"I  suppose  it  will  seem  so  to  Canaan,"  returned 
the  other,  weariedly.  "Governor  feeling  fit?" 

"I  never  saw  him,"  Joe  replied;  then  caught 
40 


A  RESCUE 

himself.     "Oh,  I  see  what  you  mean!     Yes,  he's 
all  right." 

They  had  come  into  the  hall,  and  Eugene  was 
removing  the  long  coat,  while  his  step-brother  look 
ed  at  him  thoughtfully. 

'"Gene,"  asked  the  latter,  in  a  softened  voice, 
"have  you  seen  Mamie  Pike  yet?" 

"You  will  find,  my  young  friend,"  responded 
Mr.  Bantry,  "if  you  ever  go  about  much  outside 
of  Canaan,  that  ladies'  names  are  not  supposed 
to  be  mentioned  indiscriminately." 

"  It's  only,"  said  Joe,  "  that  I  wanted  to  say  that 
there's  a  dance  at  their  house  to-night.  I  suppose 
you'll  be  going?" 

"Certainly.     Are  you?" 

Both  knew  that  the  question  was  needless;  but 
Joe  answered,  gently: 

"Oh  no,  of  course  not."  He  leaned  over  and 
fumbled  with  one  foot  as  if  to  fasten  a  loose  shoe 
string.  "She  wouldn't  be  very  likely  to  ask  me." 

"Well,  what  about  it?" 

"Only  that— that  Arie  Tabor's  going." 

"Indeed!"  Eugene  paused  on  the  stairs,  which 
he  had  begun  to  ascend.  "Very  interesting." 

"I  thought,"  continued  Joe,  hopefully,  straight 
ening  up  to  look  at  him,  "  that  maybe  you'd  dance 
with  her.  I  don't  believe  many  will  ask  her — I'm 
afraid  they  won't — and  if  you  would,  even  only 

41 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

once,  it  would  kind  of  make  up  for" — he  faltered 
— "for  out  there,"  he  finished,  nodding  his  head 
in  the  direction  of  the  gate. 

If  Eugene  vouchsafed  any  reply,  it  was  lost  in 
a  loud,  shrill  cry  from  above,  as  a  small,  intensely 
nervous-looking  woman  in  blue  silk  ran  half-way 
down  the  stairs  to  meet  him  and  caught  him  tear 
fully  in  her  arms. 

"Dear  old  mater!"  said  Eugene. 

Joe  went  out  of  the  front-door  quickly. 


Ill 


OLD    HOPES 

HE  door  which  Ariel  had  entered 
opened  upon  a  narrow  hall,  and 
down  this  she  ran  to  her  own  room, 
passing,  with  face  averted,  the  en 
trance  to  the  broad,  low  -  ceilinged 
chamber  that  had  served  Roger  Tabor  as  a  studio 
for  almost  fifty  years.  He  was  sitting  there  now, 
in  a  hopeless  and  disconsolate  attitude,  with  his 
back  towards  the  double  doors,  which  were  open, 
and  had  been  open  since  their  hinges  had  begun 
to  give  way,  when  Ariel  was  a  child.  Hearing  her 
step,  he  called  her  name,  but  did  not  turn;  and, 
receiving  no  answer,  sighed  faintly  as  he  heard  her 
own  door  close  upon  her. 

Then,  as  his  eyes  wandered  about  the  many 
canvases  which  leaned  against  the  dingy  walls,  he 
sighed  again.  Usually  they  showed  their  brown 
backs,  but  to-day  he  had  turned  them  all  to  face 
outward.  Twilight,  sunset,  moonlight  (the  Court 
house  in  moonlight),  dawn,  morning,  noon  (Main 

43 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

Street  at  noon),  high  summer,  first  spring,  red 
autumn,  midwinter,  all  were  there — inimitably  de 
tailed,  worked  to  a  smoothness  like  a  glaze,  and 
all  lovingly  done  with  unthinkable  labor. 

And  there  were  "Italian  Flower-Sellers,"  dam 
sels  with  careful  hair,  two  figures  together,  one 
blonde,  the  other  as  brunette  as  lampblack,  the 
blonde — in  pink  satin  and  blue  slippers — leaning 
against  a  pillar  and  smiling  over  the  golden  coins 
for  which  she  had  exchanged  her  posies;  the  bru 
nette  seated  at  her  feet,  weeping  upon  an  unsold 
bouquet.  There  were  red-sashed  "Fisher  Lads" 
wading  with  butterfly-nets  on  their  shoulders; 
there  was  a  "Tying  the  Ribbon  on  Pussy's  Neck"; 
there  were  portraits  in  oil  and  petrifactions  in 
crayon,  as  hard  and  tight  as  the  purses  of  those 
who  had  refused  to  accept  them,  leaving  them 
upon  their  maker's  hands  because  the  likeness  had 
failed. 

After  a  time  the  old  man  got  up,  went  to  his 
easel  near  a  window,  and,  sighing  again,  began 
patiently  to  work  upon  one  of  these  failures — a 
portrait,  in  oil,  of  a  savage  old  lady,  which  he  was 
doing  from  a  photograph.  The  expression  of  the 
mouth  and  the  shape  of  the  nose  had  not  pleased 
her  descendants  and  the  beneficiaries  under  the 
will,  and  it  was  upon  the  images  of  these  features 
that  Roger  labored.  He  leaned  far  forward,  with 

44 


OLD  HOPES 

his  face  close  to  the  canvas,  holding  his  brushes 
after  the  Spencerian  fashion,  working  steadily 
through  the  afternoon,  and,  when  the  light  grew 
dimmer,  leaning  closer  to  his  canvas  to  see.  When 
it  had  become  almost  dark  in  the  room,  he  lit  a 
student-lamp  with  a  green-glass  shade,  and,  plac 
ing  it  upon  a  table  beside  him,  continued  to  paint. 
Ariel's  voice  interrupted  him  at  last. 

"It's  quitting  -  time,  grandfather,"  she  called, 
gently,  from  the  doorway  behind  him. 

He  sank  back  in  his  chair,  conscious,  for  the 
first  time,  of  how  tired  he  had  grown.  "  I  sup 
pose  so,"  he  said,  "though  it  seemed  to  me  that 
I  was  just  getting  my  hand  in."  His  eyes  bright 
ened  for  a  moment.  "  I  declare,  I  believe  I've 
caught  it  a  great  deal  better.  Come  and  look, 
Ariel.  Doesn't  it  seem  to  you  that  I'm  getting 
it?  Those  pearly  shadows  in  the  flesh — 

"I'm  sure  of  it.  Those  people  ought  to  be  very 
proud  to  have  it."  She  came  to  him  quietly,  took 
the  palette  and  brushes  from  his  hands  and  began 
to  clean  them,  standing  in  the  shadow  behind  him. 
"It's  too  good  for  them." 

"I  wonder  if  it  is,"  he  said,  slowly,  leaning  for 
ward  and  curving  his  hands  about  his  eyes  so  as 
to  shut  off  everything  from  his  view  except  the 
canvas.  "I  wonder  if  it  is!"  he  repeated.  Then 
his  hands  dropped  sadly  in  his  lap,  and  he  sank 

45 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

back  again  with  a  patient  kind  of  revulsion.  "  No, 
no,  it  isn't!  I  always  think  they're  good  when 
I've  just  finished  them.  I've  been  fooled  that 
way  all  my  life.  They  don't  look  the  same  after 
wards." 

"They're  always  beautiful,"  she  said,  softly. 

"Ah,  ah!"  he  sighed. 

"Now,  Roger!"  she  cried,  with  cheerful  sharp 
ness,  continuing  her  work. 

"I  know,"  he  said,  with  a  plaintive  laugh, — "I 
know.  Sometimes  I  think  that  all  my  reward 
has  been  in  the  few  minutes  I've  had  just  after 
finishing  them.  During  those  few  minutes  I  seem 
to  see  in  them  all  that  I  wanted  to  put  in  them; 
I  see  it  because  what  I've  been  trying  to  express 
is  still  so  warm  in  my  own  eyes  that  I  seem  to  have 
got  it  on  the  canvas  where  I  wanted  it." 

"  But  you  do,"  she  said.     "  You  do  get  it  there." 

"No,"  he  murmured,  in  return.  "I  never  did. 
I  got  out  some  of  the  old  ones  when  I  came  in  this 
morning,  some  that  I  hadn't  looked  at  for  years,  and 
it's  the  same  with  them.  You  can  do  it  much 
better  yourself — your  sketches  show  it." 

"No,  no!"  she  protested,  quickly. 

"Yes,  they  do;  and  I  wondered  if  it  was  only 
because  you  were  young.  But  those  I  did  when 
I  was  young  are  almost  the  same  as  the  ones  I 
paint  now.  I  haven't  learned  much.  There  hasn't 

46 


THEY  RE     ALWAYS     BKA  I'TI  I-T  I..       SIIK     SAID.     SOFTLY 


OLD  HOPES 

been  any  one  to  show  me!  And  you  can't  learn 
from  print,  never!  Yet  I've  grown  in  what  I  see — 
grown  so  that  the  world  is  full  of  beauty  to  me 
that  I  never  dreamed  of  seeing  when  I  began. 
But  I  can't  paint  it — I  can't  get  it  on  the  canvas. 
Ah,  I  think  I  might  have  known  how  to,  if  I 
hadn't  had  to  teach  myself,  if  I  could  only  have 
seen  how  some  of  the  other  fellows  did  their  work. 
If  I'd  ever  saved  money  to  get  away  from  Canaan 
— if  I  could  have  gone  away  from  it  and  come 
back  knowing  how  to  paint  it — if  I  could  have  got 
to  Paris  for  just  one  month!  Paris — for  just  one 
month!" 

"  Perhaps  we  will ;  you  can't  tell  what  may  hap 
pen."  It  was  always  her  reply  to  this  cry  of  his. 

"Paris — for  just  one  month!"  he  repeated,  with 
infinite  wistfulness,  and  then  realizing  what  an 
old,  old  cry  it  was  with  him,  he  shook  his  head, 
impatiently  sniffing  out  a  laugh  at  himself,  rose 
and  went  pottering  about  among  the  canvases, 
returning  their  faces  to  the  wall,  and  railing  at 
them  mutteringly. 

"Whatever  took  me  into  it,  I  don't  know.  I 
might  have  done  something  useful.  But  I  couldn't 
bring  myself  ever  to  consider  doing  anything  else — 
I  couldn't  bear  even  to  think  of  it!  Lord  forgive 
me,  I  even  tried  to  encourage  your  father  to  paint. 
Perhaps  he  might  as  well,  poor  boy,  as  to  have  put 

47 


THE  CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

all  he'd  made  into  buying  Jonas  out.  Ah  me! 
There  you  go,  '  Flower-Girls ' !  Turn  your  silly 
faces  to  the  wall  and  smile  and  cry  there  till  I'm 
gone  and  somebody  throws  you  on  a  bonfire.  /'// 
never  look  at  you  again."  He  paused,  with  the 
canvas  half  turned.  "And  yet,"  he  went  on, 
reflectively,  "a  man  promised  me  thirty-five  dol 
lars  for  that  picture  once.  I  painted  it  to  order, 
but  he  went  away  before  I  finished  it,  and  never 
answered  the  letters  I  wrote  him  about  it.  I  wish 
I  had  the  money  now — perhaps  we  could  have 
more  than  two  meals  a  day." 

"We  don't  need  more,"  said  Ariel,  scraping  the 
palette  attentively.  "  It's  healthier  with  only 
breakfast  and  supper.  I  think  I'd  rather  have  a 
new  dress  than  dinner." 

"I  dare  say  you  would,"  the  old  man  mused. 
"You're  young — you're  young.  What  were  you 
doing  all  this  afternoon,  child?" 

"  In  my  room,  trying  to  make  over  mamma's 
wedding-dress  for  to-night." 

"To-night?" 

"Mamie  Pike  invited  me  to  a  dance  at  their 
house." 

"Very  well;  I'm  glad  you're  going  to  be  gay," 
he  said,  not  seeing  the  faintly  bitter  smile  that 
came  to  her  face. 

"I  don't  think  I'll  be  very  gay,"  she  answered. 
48 


OLD   HOPES 

"  I  don't  know  why  I  go — nobody  ever  asks  me  to 
dance." 

"Why  not?"  he  asked,  with  an  old  man's  as 
tonishment. 

"I  don't  know.  Perhaps  it's  because  I  don't 
dress  very  well."  Then,  as  he  made  a  sorrowful 
gesture,  she  cut  him  off  before  he  could  speak. 
"Oh,  it  isn't  altogether  because  we're  poor;  it's 
more  I  don't  know  how  to  wear  what  I've  got,  the 
way  some  girls  do.  I  never  cared  much  and — 
well,  I'm  not  worrying,  Roger!  And  I  think  I've 
done  a  good  deal  with  mamma's  dress.  It's  a  very 
grand  dress.  I  wonder  I  never  thought  of  wearing  it 
until  to-day.  I  may  be  " — she  laughed  and  blushed 
— "  I  may  be  the  belle  of  the  ball — who  knows!" 

"You'll  want  me  to  walk  over  with  you  and 
come  for  you  afterwards,  I  expect." 

"Only  to  take  me.  It  may  be  late  when  I 
come  away — if  a  good  many  should  ask  me  to 
dance,  for  once!  Of  course  I  could  come  home 
alone.  But  Joe  Louden  is  going  to  sort  of  hang 
around  outside,  and  he'll  meet  me  at  the  gate  and 
see  me  safe  home." 

"Oh!"  he  exclaimed,  blankly. 

"Isn't  it  all  right?"  she  asked. 

"  I  think  I'd  better  come  for  you,"  he  answered, 
gently.  "  The  truth  is,  I — I  think  you'd  better  not 
be  with  Joe  Louden  a  great  deal." 

49 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"Why?" 

"  Well,  he  doesn't  seem  a  vicious  boy  to  me,  but 
I'm  afraid  he's  getting  rather  a  bad  name,  my 
dear." 

"  He's  not  getting  one,"  she  said,  gravely.  "  He's 
already  got  one.  He's  had  a  bad  name  in  Canaan 
for  a  long  while.  It  grew  in  the  first  place  out  of 
shabbiness  and  mischief,  but  it  did  grow;  and  if 
people  keep  on  giving  him  a  bad  name  the  time 
will  come  when  he'll  live  up  to  it.  He's  not  any 
worse  than  I  am,  and  I  guess  my  own  name  isn't 
too  good — for  a  girl.  And  yet,  so  far,  there's  noth 
ing  against  him  except  his  bad  name." 

"I'm  afraid  there  is,"  said  Roger.  "It  doesn't 
look  very  well  for  a  young  man  of  his  age  to  be 
doing  no  better  than  delivering  papers." 

"  It  gives  him  time  to  study  law,"  she  answered, 
quickly.  "If  he  clerked  all  day  in  a  store,  he 
couldn't." 

"  I  didn't  know  he  was  studying  now.  I  thought 
I'd  heard  that  he  was  in  a  lawyer's  office  for  a  few 
weeks  last  year,  and  was  turned  out  for  setting  fire 
to  it  with  a  pipe — 

"It  was  an  accident,"  she  interposed. 

"  But  some  pretty  important  papers  were  burned, 
and  after  that  none  of  the  other  lawyers  would 
have  him." 

"  He's  not  in  an  office,"  she  admitted.  "  I  didn't 
5° 


OLD  HOPES 

mean  that.  But  he  studies  a  great  deal.  He 
goes  to  the  courts  all  the  time  they're  in  session, 
and  he's  bought  some  books  of  his  own." 

"Well — perhaps,"  he  assented;  "but  they  say 
he  gambles  and  drinks,  and  that  last  week  Judge 
Pike  threatened  to  have  him  arrested  for  throwing 
dice  with  some  negroes  behind  the  Judge's  stable." 

"  What  of  it  ?  I'm  about  the  only  nice  person  in 
town  that  will  have  anything  to  do  with  him — 
and  nobody  except  you  thinks  I'm  very  nice!" 

"Ariel!     Ariel!" 

"I  know  all  about  his  gambling  with  darkies," 
she  continued,  excitedly,  her  voice  rising,  "  and  I 
know  that  he  goes  to  saloons,  and  that  he's  an  in 
timate  friend  of  half  the  riffraff  in  town ;  and  I  know 
the  reason  for  it,  too,  because  he's  told  me.  He 
wants  to  know  them,  to  understand  them;  and  he 
says  some  day  they'll  make  him  a  power,  and  then 
he  can  help  them!" 

The  old  man  laughed  helplessly.  "  But  I  can't 
let  him  bring  you  home,  my  dear." 

She  came  to  him  slowly  and  laid  her  hands  upon 
his  shoulders.  Grandfather  and  granddaughter 
were  nearly  of  the  same  height,  and  she  looked 
squarely  into  his  eyes.  "Then  you  must  say  it  is 
because  you  want  to  come  for  me,  not  because  I 
mustn't  come  with  Joe." 

"But  I  think  it  is  a  little  because  you  mustn't 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

come  with  Joe,"  he  answered,  "especially  from 
the  Pikes'.  Don't  you  see  that  it  mightn't  be 
well  for  Joe  himself,  if  the  Judge  should  happen  to 
see  him  ?  I  understand  he  warned  the  boy  to  keep 
away  from  the  neighborhood  entirely  or  he  would 
have  him  locked  up  for  dice-throwing.  The  Judge 
is  a  very  influential  man,  you  know,  and  as  de 
termined  in  matters  like  this  as  he  is  irritable." 

"Oh,  if  you  put  it  on  that  ground,"  the  girl 
replied,  her  eyes  softening,  "  I  think  you'd  better 
come  for  me  yourself." 

"Very  well,  I  put  it  on  that  ground,"  he  re 
turned,  smiling  upon  her 

"Then  I'll  send  Joe  word  a.nd  get  supper,"  she 
said,  kissing  him. 

It  was  the  supper-hour  not  only  for  them  but 
everywhere  in  Canaan,  and  the  cold  air  of  the 
streets  bore  up  and  down  and  around  corners  the 
smell  of  things  frying.  The  dining-room  windows 
of  all  the  houses  threw  bright  patches  on  the  snow 
of  the  side-yards;  the  windows  of  other  rooms, 
except  those  of  the  kitchens,  were  dark,  for  the 
rule  of  the  place  was  Puritanical  in  thrift,  as  in  all 
things ;  and  the  good  housekeepers  disputed  every 
record  of  the  meters  with  unhappy  gas-collectors. 

There  was  no  better  housekeeper  in  town  than 
Mrs.  Louden,  nor  a  thriftier,  but  hers  was  one  of 
the  few  houses  in  Canaan,  that  evening,  which 

52 


OLD   HOPES 

showed  bright  lights  in  the  front  rooms  while  the 
family  were  at  supper.  It  was  proof  of  the  agita 
tion  caused  by  the  arrival  of  Eugene  that  she  for 
got  to  turn  out  the  gas  in  her  parlor,  and  in  the 
chamber  she  called  a  library,  on  her  way  to  the 
evening  meal. 

That  might  not  have  been  thought  a  cheerful 
feast  for  Joe  Louden.  The  fatted  calf  was  upon  the 
board,  but  it  had  not  been  provided  for  the  prodigal, 
whc,  in  this  case,  was  the  brother  that  stayed  at 
home:  the  fete  rewarded  the  good  brother,  who  had 
been  in  strange  lands,  and  the  good  one  had  found 
much  honor  in  his  wanderings,  as  he  carelessly  let 
it  appear.  Mrs.  Louden  brightened  inexpressibly 
whenever  Eugene  spoke  of  himself,  and  consequent 
ly  she  glowed  most  of  the  time.  Her  husband — 
a  heavy,  melancholy,  silent  man  with  a  grizzled 
beard  and  no  mustache — lowered  at  Joe  through 
out  the  meal,  but  appeared  to  take  a  strange  com 
fort  in  his  step-son's  elegance  and  polish.  Eugene 
wore  new  evening  clothes  and  was  lustrous  to  eye 
and  ear. 

Joe  escaped  as  soon  as  he  could,  though  not  be 
fore  the  count  of  his  later  sins  had  been  set  before 
Eugene  in  detail,  in  mass,  and  in  all  of  their  depth, 
breadth,  and  thickness.  His  father  spoke  but 
once,  after  nodding  heavily  to  confirm  all  points  of 
Mrs.  Louden 's  recital. 

S3 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"You  better  use  any  influence  you've  got  with 
your  brother,"  he  said  to  Eugene,  "to  make  him 
come  to  time.  I  can't  do  anything  with  him.  If 
he  gets  in  trouble,  he  needn't  come  to  me!  I'll 
never  help  him  again.  I'm  tired  of  it!" 

Eugene  glanced  twinklingly  at  the  outcast.  "  I 
didn't  know  he  was  such  a  roarer  as  all  that!"  he 
said,  lightly,  not  taking  Joe  as  of  enough  conse 
quence  to  be  treated  as  a  sinner. 

This  encouraged  Mrs.  Louden  to  pathos  upon 
the  subject  of  her  shame  before  other  women 
when  Joe  happened  to  be  mentioned,  and  the  sup 
per  was  finished  with  the  topic.  Joe  slipped  away 
through  the  kitchen,  sneakingly,  and  climbed  the 
back  fence.  In  the  alley  he  lit  a  cheap  cigarette, 
and  thrusting  his  hands  into  his  pockets  and  shiv 
ering  violently — for  he  had  no  overcoat, — walked 
away  singing  to  himself,  "A  Spanish  cavalier 
stood  in  his  retreat,"  his  teeth  affording  an  ap 
propriate  though  involuntary  castanet  accompani 
ment. 

His  movements  throughout  the  earlier  part  of 
that  evening  are  of  uncertain  report.  It  is  known 
that  he  made  a  partial  payment  of  forty-five  cents 
at  a  second-hand  book-store  for  a  number  of  vol 
umes — Grindstaft  on  Torts  and  some  others — which 
he  had  negotiated  on  the  instalment  system;  it  is 
also  believed  that  he  won  twenty -eight  cents  play- 

54 


OLD   HOPES 

ing  seven-up  in  the  little  room  behind  Louie  Far- 
bach's  bar;  but  these  things  are  of  little  import 
compared  to  the  established  fact  that  at  eleven 
o'clock  he  was  one  of  the  ball  guests  at  the  Pike 
Mansion.  He  took  no  active  part  in  the  festivities, 
nor  was  he  one  of  the  dancers :  his  was,  on  the  con 
trary,  the  role  of  a  quiet  observer.  He  lay  stretch 
ed  at  full  length  upon  the  floor  of  the  enclosed 
porch  (one  of  the  strips  of  canvas  was  later  found 
to  have  been  loosened),  wedged  between  the  outer 
railing  and  a  row  of  palms  in  green  tubs.  The 
position  he  occupied  was  somewhat  too  draughty 
to  have  been  recommended  by  a  physician,  but  he 
commanded,  between  the  leaves  of  the  screening 
palms,  an  excellent  view  of  the  room  nearest  the 
porch.  A  long  window,  open,  afforded  communi 
cation  between  this  room,  one  of  those  used  for 
dancing,  and  the  dim  bower  which  had  been  made 
of  the  veranda,  whither  flirtatious  couples  made 
their  way  between  the  dances. 

It  was  not  to  play  eavesdropper  upon  any  of 
these  that  the  uninvited  Joe  had  come.  He  was 
not  there  to  listen,  and  it  is  possible  that,  had  the 
curtains  of  other  windows  afforded  him  the  chance 
to  behold  the  dance,  he  might  not  have  risked  the 
dangers  of  his  present  position.  He  had  not  the 
slightest  interest  in  the  whispered  coquetries  that 
he  heard;  he  watched  only  to  catch  now  and  then, 
s  55 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

over  the  shoulders  of  the  dancers,  a  fitful  glimpse 
of  a  pretty  head  that  flitted  across  the  window— 
the  amber  hair  of  Mamie  Pike.  He  shivered  in  the 
draughts;  and  the  floor  of  the  porch  was  cement, 
painful  to  elbow  and  knee,  the  space  where  he  lay 
cramped  and  narrow;  but  the  golden  bubbles  of 
her  hair,  the  shimmer  of  her  dainty  pink  dress, 
and  the  fluffy  wave  of  her  lace  scarf  as  she  crossed 
and  recrossed  in  a  waltz,  left  him,  apparently,  in 
no  discontent.  He  watched  with  parted  lips,  his 
pale  cheeks  reddening  whenever  those  fair  glimpses 
were  his.  At  last  she  came  out  to  the  veranda  with 
Eugene  and  sat  upon  a  little  divan,  so  close  to  Joe 
that,  daring  wildly  in  the  shadow,  he  reached  out 
a  trembling  hand  and  let  his  fingers  rest  upon  the 
end  of  her  scarf,  which  had  fallen  from  her  shoul 
ders  and  touched  the  floor.  She  sat  with  her  back 
to  him,  as  did  Eugene. 

"You  have  changed,  I  think,  since  last  summer," 
he  heard  her  say,  reflectively. 

"For  the  worse,  ma  cherie?"  Joe's  expression 
might  have  been  worth  seeing  when  Eugene  said 
"  ma  ch£rie,"  for  it  was  known  in  the  Louden  house 
hold  that  Mr.  Bantry  had  failed  to  pass  his  exami 
nation  in  the  French  language. 

"No,"  she  answered.  "But  you  have  seen  so 
much  and  accomplished  so  much  since  then.  You 
have  become  so  polished  and  so—  She  paused, 

56 


OLD  HOPES 

and  then  continued,  "But  perhaps  I'd  better  not 
say  it;  you  might  be  offended." 

"No.  I  want  you  to  say  it,"  he  returned,  con 
fidently,  and  his  confidence  was  fully  justified,  for 
she  said: 

"  Well,  then,  I  mean  that  you  have  become  so 
thoroughly  a  man  of  the  world.  Now  I've  said  it! 
You  are  offended — aren't  you?" 

"Not  at  all,  not  at  all,"  replied  Mr.  Bantry,  pre 
venting  by  a  masterful  effort  his  pleasure  from 
showing  in  his  face.  "  Though  I  suppose  you  mean 
to  imply  that  I'm  rather  wicked." 

"Oh  no,"  said  Mamie,  with  profound  admiration, 
"not  exactly  wicked." 

"University  life  is  fast  nowadays,"  Eugene  ad 
mitted.  "  It's  difficult  not  to  be  drawn  into  it!" 

"And  I  suppose  you  look  down  on  poor  little 
Canaan  now,  and  everybody  in  it!" 

" Oh  no,"  he  laughed,  indulgently.  "  Not  at  all, 
not  at  all!  I  find  it  very  amusing." 

"All  of  it?" 

"Not  you,"  he  answered,  becoming  very  grave. 

"  Honestly — don't  you  ?"  Her  young  voice  trem 
bled  a  little. 

"Honestly  —  indeed  —  truly — "  Eugene  leaned 
very  close  to  her  and  the  words  were  barely  audible. 
"You  know  I  don't!" 

"Then  I'm — glad,"  she  whispered,  and  Joe  saw 
57 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

his  step-brother  touch  her  hand,  but  she  rose  quick 
ly.  "There's  the  music,"  she  cried,. happily.  "It's 
a  waltz,  and  it's  yours  /" 

Joe  heard  her  little  high  heels  tapping  gayly 
towards  the  window,  followed  by  the  heavier  tread 
of  Eugene,  but  he  did  not  watch  them  go. 

He  lay  on  his  back,  with  the  hand  that  had 
touched  Mamie's  scarf  pressed  across  his  closed 
eyes. 

The  music  of  that  waltz  was  of  the  old-fashioned 
swingingly  sorrowful  sort,  and  it  would  be  hard  to 
say  how  long  it  was  after  that  before  the  boy  could 
hear  the  air  played  without  a  recurrence  of  the 
bitterness  of  that  moment.  The  rhythmical  pathos 
of  the  violins  was  in  such  accord  with  a  faint  sound 
of  weeping  which  he  heard  near  him,  presently, 
that  for  a  little  while  he  believed  this  sound  to  be 
part  of  the  music  and  part  of  himself.  Then  it  be 
came  more  distinct,  and  he  raised  himself  on  one 
elbow  to  look  about. 

Very  close  to  him,  sitting  upon  the  divan  in  the 
shadow,  was  a  girl  wearing  a  dress  of  beautiful  silk. 
She  was  crying  softly,  her  face  in  her  hands. 


IV 

THE   DISASTER 

(RIEL  had  worked  all  the  afternoon 
over  her  mother's  wedding  -  gown, 
and  two  hours  were  required  by  her 
toilet  for  the  dance.  She  curled  her 
hair  frizzily,  burning  it  here  and 
there,  with  a  slate-pencil  heated  over  a  lamp- 
chimney,  and  she  placed  above  one  ear  three  or 
four  large  artificial  roses,  taken  from  an  old  hat 
of  her  mother's,  which  she  had  found  in  a  trunk 
in  the  store-room.  Possessing  no  slippers,  she  care 
fully  blacked  and  polished  her  shoes,  which  had 
been  clumsily  resoled,  and  fastened  into  the  strings 
of  each  small  rosettes  of  red  ribbon ;  after  which 
she  practised  swinging  the  train  of  her  skirt  until 
she  was  proud  of  her  manipulation  of  it.  She 
had  no  powder,  but  found  in  her  grandfather's 
room  a  lump  of  magnesia,  that  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  tailing  for  heart-burn,  and  passed  it  over  and 
over  her  brown  face  and  hands.  Then  a  lingering 
gaze  into  her  small  mirror  gave  her  joy  at  last :  she 

59 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

yearned  so  hard  to  see  herself  charming  that  she 
did  see  herself  so.  Admiration  came  and  she  told 
herself  that  she  was  more  attractive  to  look  at 
than  she  had  ever  been  in  her  life,  and  that,  per 
haps,  at  last  she  might  begin  to  be  sought  for  like 
other  girls.  The  little  glass  showed  a  sort  of  pretti- 
ness  in  her  thin,  unmatured  young  face;  tripping 
dance-tunes  ran  through  her  head,  her  feet  keep 
ing  the  time, — ah,  she  did  so  hope  to  dance  often 
that  night!  Perhaps — perhaps  she  might  be  asked 
for  every  number.  And  so,  wrapping  an  old  water 
proof  cloak  about  her,  she  took  her  grandfather's 
arm  and  sallied  forth,  high  hopes  in  her  beating 
heart. 

It  was  in  the  dressing-room  that  tne  change  be 
gan  to  come.  Alone,  at  home  in  her  own  ugly  lit 
tle  room,  she  had  thought  herself  almost  beautiful, 
but  here  in  the  brightly  lighted  chamber  crowded 
with  the  other  girls  it  was  different.  There  was 
a  big  cheval-glass  at  one  end  of  the  room,  and  she 
faced  it,  when  her  turn  came — for  the  mirror  was 
popular — with  a  sinking  spirit.  There  was  the 
contrast,  like  a  picture  painted  and  framed.  The 
other  girls  all  wore  their  hair  after  the  fashion  in 
troduced  to  Canaan  by  Mamie  Pike  the  week  be 
fore,  on  her  return  from  a  visit  to  Chicago.  None 
of  them  had  "crimped"  and  none  had  bedecked 
their  tresses  with  artificial  flowers.  Her  alterations 

60 


THE  DISASTER 

of  the  wedding-dress  had  not  been  successful;  the 
skirt  was  too  short  in  front  and  higher  on  one 
side  than  on  the  other,  showing  too  plainly  the 
heavy -soled  shoes,  which  had  lost  most  of  their 
polish  in  the  walk  through  the  snow.  The  ribbon 
rosettes  were  fully  revealed,  and  as  she  glanced  at 
their  reflection  she  heard  the  words,  "Look  at  that 
train  and  those  rosettes!"  whispered  behind  her,  and 
saw  in  the  mirror  two  pretty  young  women  turn 
away  with  their  handkerchiefs  over  their  mouths 
and  retreat  hurriedly  to  an  alcove.  All  the  feet 
in  the  room  except  Ariel's  were  in  dainty  kid  or 
satin  slippers  of  the  color  of  the  dresses  from  which 
they  glimmered  out,  and  only  Ariel  wore  a  train. 

She  went  away  from  the  mirror  and  pretended 
to  be  busy  with  a  hanging  thread  in  her  sleeve. 

She  was  singularly  an  alien  in  the  chattering 
room,  although  she  had  been  born  and  lived  all 
her  life  in  the  town.  Perhaps  her  position  among 
the  young  ladies  may  be  best  defined  by  the  re 
mark,  generally  current  among  them,  that  even 
ing,  to  the  effect  that  it  was  "very  sweet  of  Mamie 
to  invite  her."  Ariel  was  not  like  the  others;  she 
was  not  of  them,  and  never  had  been.  Indeed,  she 
did  not  know  them  very  well.  Some  of  them 
nodded  to  her  and  gave  her  a  word  of  greeting 
pleasantly;  all  of  them  whispered  about  her  with 
wonder  and  suppressed  amusement;  but  none 

61 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

talked  to  her.  They  were  not  unkindly,  but  they 
were  young  and  eager  and  excited  over  their  own 
interests, — which  were  then  in  the  "gentlemen's 
dressing-room." 

Each  of  the  other  girls  had  been  escorted  by  a 
youth  of  the  place,  and,  one  by  one,  joining  these 
escorts  in  the  hall  outside  the  door,  they  descended 
the  stairs,  until  only  Ariel  was  left.  She  came 
down  alone  after  the  first  dance  had  begun,  and 
greeted  her  young  hostess's  mother  timidly.  Mrs. 
Pike — a  small,  frightened-looking  woman  with  a 
prominent  ruby  necklace — answered  her  absently, 
and  hurried  away  to  see  that  the  imported  waiters 
did  not  steal  anything. 

Ariel  sat  in  one  of  the  chairs  against  the  wall 
and  watched  the  dancers  with  a  smile  of  eager  and 
benevolent  interest.  In  Canaan  no  parents,  no 
guardians  nor  aunts,  were  haled  forth  o'  nights  to 
duenna  the  junketings  of  youth;  Mrs.  Pike  did  not 
reappear,  and  Ariel  sat  conspicuously  alone;  there 
was  nothing  else  for  her  to  do.  It  was  not  an 
easy  matter. 

When  the  first  dance  reached  an  end,  Mamie 
Pike  came  to  her  for  a  moment  with  a  cheery  wel 
come,  and  was  immediately  surrounded  by  a  circle 
of  young  men  and  women,  flushed  with  dancing, 
shouting  as  was  their  wont,  laughing  inexplicably 
over  words  and  phrases  and  unintelligible  mono- 

62 


THE   DISASTER 

syllables,  as  if  they  all  belonged  to  a  secret  society 
and  these  cries  were  symbols  of  things  exquisite 
ly  humorous,  which  only  they  understood.  Ariel 
laughed  with  them  more  heartily  than  any  other, 
so  that  she  might  seem  to  be  of  them  and  as  mer 
ry  as  they  were,  but  almost  immediately  she  found 
herself  outside  of  the  circle,  and  presently  they  all 
whirled  away  into  another  dance,  and  she  was  left 
alone  again. 

So  she  sat,  no  one  coming  near  her,  through 
several  dances,  trying  to  maintain  the  smile  of 
delighted  interest  upon  her  face,  though  she  felt 
the  muscles  of  her  face  beginning  to  ache  with  their 
fixedness,  her  eyes  growing  hot  and  glazed.  All  the 
other  girls  were  provided  with  partners  for  every 
dance,  with  several  young  men  left  over,  these  lat 
ter  lounging  hilariously  together  in  the  doorways. 
Ariel  was  careful  not  to  glance  towards  them,  but 
she  could  not  help  hating  them.  Once  or  twice 
between  the  dances  she  saw  Miss  Pike  speak  ap- 
pealingly  to  one  of  the  superfluous,  glancing,  at  the 
same  time,  in  her  own  direction,  and  Ariel  could 
see,  too,  that  the  appeal  proved  unsuccessful,  until 
at  last  Mamie  approached  her,  leading  Norbert 
Flitcroft,  partly  by  the  hand,  partly  by  will-power. 
Norbert  was  an  excessively  fat  boy,  and  at  the 
present  moment  looked  as  patient  as  the  blind. 
But  he  asked  Ariel  if  she  was  "  engaged  for  the  next 

63 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

dance,"  and,  Mamie  having  flitted  away,  stood 
disconsolately  beside  her,  waiting  for  the  music  to 
begin.  Ariel  was  grateful  for  him. 

"  I  think  you  must  be  very  good-natured,  Mr. 
Flitcroft,"  she  said,  with  an  air  of  raillery. 

"  No,  I'm  not,"  he  replied,  plaintively.  "  Every 
body  thinks  I  am  because  I'm  fat,  and  they  ex 
pect  me  to  do  things  they  never  dream  of  asking 
anybody  else  to  do.  I'd  like  to  see  'em  even  ask 
'Gene  Bantry  to  go  and  do  some  of  the  things  they 
get  me  to  do!  A  person  isn't  good-natured  just 
because  he's  fat,"  he  concluded,  morbidly,  "but 
he  might  as  well  be!" 

"Oh,  I  meant  good-natured,"  she  returned,  with 
a  sprightly  laugh,  "because  you're  willing  to  waltz 
with  me." 

"Oh,  well,"  he  returned,  sighing,  "that's  all 
right." 

The  orchestra  flourished  into  "La  Paloma";  he 
put  his  arm  mournfully  about  her,  and  taking  her 
right  hand  with  his  left,  carried  her  arm  out  to  a 
rigid  right  angle,  beginning  to  pump  and  balance 
for  time.  They  made  three  false  starts  and  then 
got  away.  Ariel  danced  badly;  she  hopped  and 
lost  the  step,  but  they  persevered,  bumping  against 
other  couples  continually.  Circling  breathlessly 
into  the  next  room,  they  passed  close  to  a  long 
mirror,  in  which  Ariel  saw  herself,  although  in  a 

64 


THE   DISASTER 

flash,  more  bitterly  contrasted  to  the  others  than 
in  the  cheval-glass  of  the  dressing-room.  The 
clump  of  roses  was  flopping  about  her  neck,  her 
crimped  hair  looked  frowzy,  and  there  was  some 
thing  terribly  wrong  about  her  dress.  Suddenly 
she  felt  her  train  to  be  ominously  grotesque,  as  a 
thing  following  her  in  a  nightmare. 

A  moment  later  she  caught  her  partner  making  a 
burlesque  face  of  suffering  over  her  shoulder,  and, 
turning  her  head  quickly,  saw  for  whose  benefit 
he  had  constructed  it.  Eugene  Bantry,  flying  ex 
pertly  by  with  Mamie,  was  bestowing  upon  Mr. 
Flitcroft  a  condescendingly  commiserative  wink. 
The  next  instant  she  tripped  in  her  train  and  fell  to 
the  floor  at  Eugene's  feet,  carrying  her  partner 
with  her. 

There  was  a  shout  of  laughter.  The  young 
hostess  stopped  Eugene,  who  would  have  gone  on, 
and  he  had  no  choice  but  to  stoop  to  Ariel's  as 
sistance. 

"It  seems  to  be  a  habit  of  mine,"  she  said, 
laughing  loudly. 

She  did  not  appear  to  see  the  hand  he  offered, 
but  got  to  her  feet  without  help  and  walked  quickly 
away  with  Norbert,  who  proceeded  to  live  up  to  the 
character  he  had  given  himself. 

'"Perhaps  we  had  better  not  try  it  again,"  she 
laughed. 

65 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

"  Well,  I  should  think  not,"  he  returned,  with  the 
frankest  gloom.  With  the  air  of  conducting  her 
home  he  took  her  to  the  chair  against  the  wall 
whence  he  had  brought  her.  There  his  responsi 
bility  for  her  seemed  to  cease.  "  Will  you  excuse 
me?"  he  asked,  and  there  was  no  doubt  that  he 
felt  that  he  had  been  given  more  than  his  share 
that  evening,  even  though  he  was  fat. 

"Yes,  indeed."  Her  laughter  was  continuous. 
"  I  should  think  you  would  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  me 
after  that.  Ha,  ha,  ha!  Poor  Mr.  Flitcroft,  you 
know  you  are!" 

It  was  the  deadly  truth,  and  the  fat  one,  saying, 
"Well,  if  you'll  just  excuse  me  now,"  hurried 
away  with  a  step  which  grew  lighter  as  the  distance 
from  her  increased.  Arrived  at  the  haven  of  a  far 
doorway,  he  mopped  his  brow  and  shook  his  head 
grimly  in  response  to  frequent  rallyings. 

Ariel  sat  through  more  dances,  interminable 
dances  and  intermissions,  in  that  same  chair,  in 
which,  it  began  to  seem,  she  was  to  live  out  the  rest 
of  her  life.  Now  and  then,  if  she  thought  people 
were  looking  at  her  as  they  passed,  she  broke  into  a 
laugh  and  nodded  slightly,  as  if  still  amused  over 
her  mishap. 

After  a  long  time  she  rose,  and  laughing  cheer 
fully  to  Mr.  Flitcroft,  who  was  standing  in  the 
doorway  and  replied  with  a  wan  smile,  stepped 

66 


THE   DISASTER 

out  quickly  into  the  hall,  where  she  almost  ran 
into  her  great-uncle,  Jonas  Tabor.  He  was  going 
towards  the  big  front  doors  with  Judge  Pike,  hav 
ing  just  come  out  of  the  latter's  library,  down  the 
hall. 

Jonas  was  breathing  heavily  and  was  shockingly 
pale,  though  his  eyes  were  very  bright.  He  turned 
his  back  upon  his  grandniece  sharply  and  went  out 
of  the  door.  Ariel  turned  from  him  quite  as  abrupt 
ly  and  re-entered  the  room  whence  she  had  come. 
She  laughed  again  to  her  fat  friend  as  she  passed 
him,  and,  still  laughing,  went  towards  the  fatal 
chair,  when  her  eyes  caught  sight  of  Eugene  Bantry 
and  Mamie  coming  in  through  the  window  from 
the  porch.  Still  laughing,  she  went  to  the  window 
and  looked  out;  the  porch  seemed  deserted  and 
was  faintly  illuminated  by  a  few  Japanese  lanterns. 
She  sprang  out,  dropped  upon  the  divan,  and  bury 
ing  her  face  in  her  hands,  cried  heart-brokenly. 
Presently  she  felt  something  alive  touch  her  foot, 
and,  her  breath  catching  with  alarm,  she  started 
to  rise.  A  thin  hand,  issuing  from  a  shabby  sleeve, 
had  stolen  out  between  two  of  the  green  tubs  and 
was  pressing  upon  one  of  her  shoes. 

"  'Sh!"  said  Joe.     "  Don't  make  a  noise!" 
His  warning  was  not  needed ;  she  had  recognized 
the  hand  and  sleeve  instantly.     She  dropped  back 
with  a  low  sound  which  would  have  been  hysterical 

67 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

if  it  had  been  louder,  while  he  raised  himself  on 
his  arm  until  she  could  see  his  face  dimly,  as  he 
peered  at  her  between  the  palms. 

"What  were  you  going  on  about?"  he  asked, 
angrily. 

"Nothing,"  she  answered.  "I  wasn't.  You 
must  go  away,  and  quick.  It's  too  dangerous.  If 
the  Judge  found  you — " 

"He  won't!" 

"Ah,  you'd  risk  anything  to  see  Mamie  Pike — " 

"What  were  you  crying  about?"  he  interrupted. 

"Nothing,  I  tell  you!"  she  repeated,  the  tears 
not  ceasing  to  gather  in  her  eyes.  "I  wasn't." 

"I  want  to  know  what  it  was,"  he  insisted. 
"Didn't  the  fools  ask  you  to  dance?  Ah!  You 
needn't  tell  me.  That's  it.  I've  been  here  for 
the  last  three  dances  and  you  weren't  in  sight  till 
you  came  to  the  window.  Well,  what  do  you  care 
about  that  for?" 

"I  don't!"  she  answered.  "I  don't!"  Then 
suddenly,  without  being  able  to  prevent  it,  she 
sobbed. 

"No,"  he  said,  gently,  "I  see  you  don't.  And 
you  let  yourself  be  a  fool  because  there  are  a  lot 
of  fools  in  there." 

She  gave  way,  all  at  once,  to  a  gust  of  sorrow 
and  bitterness;  she  bent  far  over  and  caught  his 
hand  and  laid  it  against  her  wet  cheek.  "Oh, 

68 


THE  DISASTER 

Joe,"  she  whispered,  brokenly,  "I  think  we  have 
such  hard  lives,  you  and  I!  It  doesn't  seem  right 
—while  we're  so  young!  Why  can't  we  be  like 
the  others  ?  Why  can't  we  have  some  of  the  fun  ?" 

He  withdrew  his  hand,  with  the  embarrassment 
and  shame  he  would  have  felt  had  she  been  a  boy. 
"Get  out!"  he  said,  feebly. 

She  did  not  seem  to  notice,  but,  still  stooping, 
rested  her  elbows  on  her  knees  and  her  face  in  her 
hands.  "  I  try  so  hard  to  have  fun,  to  be  like  the 
rest, — and  it's  always  a  mistake,  always,  always, 
always!"  She  rocked  herself,  slightly,  from  side 
to  side.  "  I  am  a  fool,  it's  the  truth,  or  I  wouldn't 
have  come  to-night.  I  want  to  be  attractive — I 
want  to  be  in  things.  I  want  to  laugh  like  they 
do—" 

"  To  laugh  just  to  laugh,  and  not  because  there's 
something  funny?" 

"Yes,  I  do,  I  do!  And  to  know  how  to  dress 
and  to  wear  my  hair — there  must  be  some  place 
where  you  can  learn  those  things.  I've  never  had 
any  one  to  show  me!  Ah!  Grandfather  said 
something  like  that  this  afternoon — poor  man' 
We're  in  the  same  case.  If  we  only  had  some  one 
to  show  us!  It  all  seems  so  blind,  here  in  Canaan, 
for  him  and  me!  I  don't  say  it's  not  my  own 
fault  as  much  as  being  poor.  I've  been  a  hoyden; 
I  don't  feel  as  if  I'd  learned  how  to  be  a  girl  yet, 

69 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

Joe.  It's  only  lately  I've  cared,  but  I'm  seven 
teen,  Joe,  and — and  to-day — to-day — I  was  sent 
home — and  to-night—  She  faltered,  came  to  a 
stop,  and  her  whole  body  was  shaken  with  sobs. 
"I  hate  myself  so  for  crying — for  everything!" 

"I'll  tell  you  something,"  he  whispered,  chuck 
ling  desperately.  "  'Gene  made  me  unpack  his  trunk, 
and  I  don't  believe  he's  as  great  a  man  at  college  as 
he  is  here.  I  opened  one  of  his  books,  and  some 
one  had  written  in  it,  '  Prigamaloo  Bantry,  the  Class 
Try-To-Be'f  He'd  never  noticed,  and  you  ought 
to  have  heard  him  go  on!  You'd  have  just  died, 
Ariel — I  almost  bust  wide  open!  It  was  a  mean 
trick  in  me,  but  I  couldn't  help  showing  it  to  him." 

Joe's  object  was  obtained.  She  stopped  crying, 
and,  wiping  her  eyes,  smiled  faintly.  Then  she 
became  grave.  "You're  jealous  of  Eugene,"  she 
said. 

He  considered  this  for  a  moment.  "Yes,"  he 
answered,  thoughtfully,  "I  am.  But  I  wouldn't 
think  about  him  differently  on  that  account.  And 
I  wouldn't  talk  about  him  to  any  one  but  you." 

"  Not  even  to —  She  left  the  question  un 
finished. 

"No,"  he  said,  quietly.     "Of  course  not." 

"No?     Because  it  wouldn't  be  any  use?" 

"  I  don't  know.  I  never  have  a  chance  to  talk 
to  her,  anyway." 

7o 


THE   DISASTER 

"Of  course  you  don't!"  Her  voice  had  grown 
steady.  "You  say  I'm  a  fool.  What  are  you?" 

"You  needn't  worry  about  me,"  he  began.  "I 
can  take  care — 

'"Sh!"  she  whispered,  warningly.  The  music 
had  stopped,  a  loud  clatter  of  voices  and  laughter 
succeeding  it. 

"What  need  to  be  careful,"  Joe  assured  her, 
"with  all  that  noise  going  on?" 

"  You  must  go  away,"  she  said,  anxiously.  "  Oh, 
please,  Joe!" 

"Not  yet;  I  want—" 

She  coughed  loudly.  Eugene  and  Mamie  Pike 
had  come  to  the  window,  with  the  evident  intention 
of  occupying  the  veranda,  but  perceiving  Ariel  en 
gaged  with  threads  in  her  sleeve,  they  turned  away 
and  disappeared.  Other  couples  looked  out  from 
time  to  time,  and  finding  the  solitary  figure  in  pos 
session,  retreated  abruptly  to  seek  stairways  and 
remote  corners  for  the  things  they  were  impelled 
to  say. 

And  so  Ariel  held  the  porch  for  three  dances  and 
three  intermissions,  occupying  a  great  part  of  the 
time  with  entreaties  that  her  obdurate  and  reck 
less  companion  should  go.  When,  for  the  fourth 
time,  the  music  sounded,  her  agitation  had  so 
increased  that  she  was  visibly  trembling.  "  I 
can't  stand  it,  Joe,"  she  said,  bending  over  him. 

6  71 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"  I  don't  know  what  would  happen  if  they  found 
you.  You've  got  to  go!" 

"No,  I  haven't,"  he  chuckled.  "They  haven't 
even  distributed  the  supper  yet!" 

"  And  you  take  all  the  chances,"  she  said,  slowly, 
"just  to  see  her  pass  that  window  a  few  times." 

"  What  chances  ?" 

"Of  what  the  Judge  will  do  if  any  one  sees 
you." 

" Nothing;  because  if  any  one  saw  me  I'd  leave." 

"Please  go." 

"Not  till—" 

"'Sk!" 

A  colored  waiter,  smiling  graciously,  came  out 
upon  the  porch  bearing  a  tray  of  salad,  hot  oysters, 
and  coffee.  Ariel  shook  her  head. 

"I  don't  want  any,"  she  murmured. 

The  waiter  turned  away  in  pity  and  was  re- 
entering  the  window,  when  a  passionate  whisper 
fell  upon  his  ear  as  well  as  upon  Ariel's. 

"Take  it !" 

"Ma'am?"  said  the  waiter. 

"I've  changed  my  mind,"  she  replied,  quickly. 
The  waiter,  his  elation  restored,  gave  of  his  viands 
with  the  superfluous  bounty  loved  by  his  race  when 
distributing  the  product  of  the  wealthy. 

When  he  had  gone,  "  Give  me  everything  that's 
hot,"  said  Joe.  "You  can  keep  the  salad." 

72 


THE   DISASTER 

"I  couldn't  eat  it  or  anything  else,"  she  an 
swered,  thrusting  the  plate  between  the  palms. 

For  a  time  there  was  silence.  From  within  the 
house  came  the  continuous  babble  of  voices  and 
laughter,  the  clink  of  cutlery  on  china.  The  young 
people  spent  a  long  time  over  their  supper.  By- 
and-by  the  waiter  returned  to  the  veranda,  de 
posited  a  plate  of  colored  ices  upon  Ariel's  knees 
with  a  noble  gesture,  and  departed. 

"No  ice  for  me,"  said  Joe. 

"Won't  you  please  go  now?"  she  entreated. 

"It  wouldn't  be  good  manners,"  he  responded. 
"They  might  think  I  only  came  for  supper." 

"  Hand  me  back  the  things.  The  waiter  might 
come  for  them  any  minute." 

"Not  yet.  I  haven't  quite  finished.  I  eat  with 
contemplation,  Ariel,  because  there's  more  than 
the  mere  food  and  the  warmth  of  it  to  consider. 
There's  the  pleasure  of  being  entertained  by  the 
great  Martin  Pike.  Think  what  a  real  kindness 
I'm  doing  him,  too.  I  increase  his  good  deeds  and 
his  hospitality  without  his  knowing  it  or  being 
able  to  help  it.  Don't  you  see  how  I  boost  his 
standing  with  the  Recording  Angel  ?  If  Lazarus 
had  behaved  the  way  I  do,  Dives  needn't  have 
had  those  worries  that  came  to  him  in  the  after 
life." 

"Give  me  the  dish  and  coffee-cup,"  she  whis- 
73 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

pered,  impatiently.  "Suppose  the  waiter  came 
and  had  to  look  for  them?  Quick!" 

"Take  them,  then.  You'll  see  that  jealousy 
hasn't  spoiled  my  appetite — 

A  bottle-shaped  figure  appeared  in  the  window 
and  she  had  no  time  to  take  the  plate  and  cup 
which  were  being  pushed  through  the  palm-leaves. 
She  whispered  a  syllable  of  warning,  and  the  dishes 
were  hurriedly  withdrawn  as  Norbert  Flitcroft, 
wearing  a  solemn  expression  of  injury,  came  out 
upon  the  veranda. 

He  halted  suddenly.  "  What's  that  ?"  he  asked, 
with  suspicion. 

"Nothing,"  answered  Ariel,  sharply.    "Where?" 

"Behind  those  palms." 

"Probably  your  own  shadow,"  she  laughed;  "or 
it  might  have  been  a  draught  moving  the  leaves." 

He  did  not  seem  satisfied,  but  stared  hard  at 
the  spot  where  the  dishes  had  disappeared,  mean 
time  edging  back  cautiously  nearer  the  window. 

"  They  want  you,"  he  said,  after  a  pause.  "  Some 
one's  come  for  you." 

"Oh,  is  grandfather  waiting?"  She  rose,  at 
the  same  time  letting  her  handkerchief  fall.  She 
stooped  to  pick  it  up,  with  her  face  away  from 
Norbert  and  toward  the  palms,  whispering  trem 
ulously,  but  with  passionate  urgency,  "Please  go!" 

"  It  isn't  your  grandfather  that  has  come  for 
74 


THE  DISASTER 

you,"  said  the  fat  one,  slowly.     "It  is  old  Eskew 
Arp.     Something's  happened." 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  beginning  to 
tremble  violently,  her  eyes  growing  wide  with 
fright. 

"Is  my  grandfather — is  he  sick?" 

"You  better  go  and  see.  Old  Eskew's  waiting 
in  the  hall.  He'll  tell  you." 

She  was  by  him  and  through  the  window  in 
stantly.  Norbert  did  not  follow  her;  he  remained 
for  several  moments  looking  earnestly  at  the  palms ; 
then  he  stepped  through  the  window  and  beckoned 
to  a  youth  who  was  lounging  in  the  doorway  across 
the  room. 

"There's  somebody  hiding  behind  those  plants," 
he  whispered,  when  his  friend  reached  him.  "  Go 
and  tell  Judge  Pike  to  send  some  of  the  niggers 
to  watch  outside  the  porch,  so  that  he  doesn't  get 
away.  Then  tell  him  to  get  his  revolver  and  come 
here." 

Meanwhile  Ariel  had  found  Mr.  Arp  waiting  in 
the  hall,  talking  in  a  low  voice  to  Mrs.  Pike. 

"Your  grandfather's  all  right,"  he  told  the 
frightened  girl,  quickly.  "  He  sent  me  for  you, 
that's  all.  Just  hurry  and  get  your  things." 

She  was  with  him  again  in  a  moment,  and  seizing 
the  old  man's  arm,  hurried  him  down  the  steps  and 
toward  the  street  almost  at  a  run. 

75 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

"You're  not  telling  me  the  truth,"  she  said. 
"You're  not  telling  me  the  truth!" 

"Nothing  has  happened  to  Roger,"  panted  Mr. 
Arp.  " Nothing  to  mind,  I  mean.  Here!  We're 
going  this  way.  not  that."  They  had  come  to  the 
gate,  and  as  she  turned  to  the  right  he  pulled  her 
round  sharply  to  the  left.  "We're  not  going  to 
your  house." 

"  Where  are  we  going?" 

o  o 

"We're  going  to  your  uncle  Jonas's." 
"Why?"   she  cried,   in   supreme   astonishment. 
"  What  do  you  want  to  take  me  there  for  ?     Don't 
you  know  that  he's  stopped  speaking  to  me?" 

"  Yes,"  said  the  old  man,  grimly,  with  something 
of  the  look  he  wore  when  delivering  a  clincher  at 
the  "National  House," — "he's  stopped  speaking  to 
everybody." 


V 


BEAVER   BEACH 

[HE  Canaan  Daily  Tocsin  of  the  fol 
lowing  morning  "ventured  the  as 
sertion"  upon  its  front  page  that 
"the  scene  at  the  Pike  Mansion  was 
one  of  unalloyed  festivity,  music, 
and  mirth;  a  fairy  bower  of  airy  figures  wafting 
here  and  there  to  the  throb  of  waltz-strains;  a 
veritable  Temple  of  Terpsichore,  shining  forth  with 
a  myriad  of  lights,  which,  together  with  the  gener 
ous  profusion  of  floral  decorations  and  the  mingled 
delights  afforded  by  Minds 's  orchestra  of  Indian 
apolis  and  Caterer  Jones  of  Chicago,  was  in  all 
likelihood  never  heretofore  surpassed  in  elegance 
in  our  city.  .  .  .  Only  one  incident,"  the  Tocsin  re 
marked,  "marred  an  otherwise  perfect  occasion, 
and  out  of  regard  for  the  culprit's  family  connec 
tions,  which  are  prominent  in  our  social  world,  we 
withhold  his  name.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  through 
the  vigilance  of  Mr.  Norbert  Flitcroft,  grandson  of 
Colonel  A.  A.  Flitcroft,  who  proved  himself  a  thor- 

77 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

ough  Lecoq  (the  celebrated  French  detective),  the 
rascal  was  seized  and  recognized.  Mr.  Flitcroft, 
having  discovered  him  in  hiding,  had  a  cordon  of 
waiters  drawn  up  around  his  hiding-place,  which 
was  the  charmingly  decorated  side  piazza  of  the 
Pike  Mansion,  and  sent  for  Judge  Pike,  who  came 
upon  the  intruder  by  surprise.  He  evaded  the 
Judge's  indignant  grasp,  but  received  a  well- 
merited  blow  over  the  head  from  a  poker  which 
the  Judge  had  concealed  about  his  person  while 
pretending  to  approach  the  hiding-place  casually. 
Attracted  to  the  scene  by  the  cries  of  Mr.  Flitcroft, 
who,  standing  behind  Judge  Pike,  accidentally  re 
ceived  a  blow  from  the  same  weapon,  all  the  guests 
of  the  evening  sprang  to  view  the  scene,  only  to 
behold  the  culprit  leap  through  a  crevice  between 
the  strips  of  canvas  which  enclosed  the  piazza. 
He  was  seized  by  the  colored  coachman  of  the  Man 
sion,  Sam  Warden,  and  immediately  pounced  upon 
by  the  cordon  of  Caterer  Jones's  dusky  assistants 
from  Chicago,  who  were  in  ambush  outside.  Un 
fortunately,  after  a  brief  struggle  he  managed  to 
trip  Warden,  and,  the  others  stumbling  upon  the 
prostrate  body  of  the  latter,  to  make  his  escape 
in  the  darkness. 

"It  is  not  believed  by  many  that  his  intention 
was  burglary,  though  what  his  designs  were  can 
only  be  left  to  conjecture,  as  he  is  far  beyond  the 

78 


BEAVER  BEACH 

age  when  boys  perform  such  actions  out  of  a  sense 
of  mischief.  He  had  evidently  occupied  his  hid 
ing-place  some  time,  and  an  idea  of  his  coolness 
may  be  obtained  from  his  having  procured  and 
eaten  a  full  meal  through  an  unknown  source. 
Judge  Pike  is  justly  incensed,  and  swears  that  he 
will  prosecute  him  on  this  and  other  charges  as  soon 
as  he  can  be  found.  Much  sympathy  is  felt  for 
the  culprit's  family,  who  feel  his  shame  most 
keenly,  but  who,  though  sorrowing  over  the  occur 
rence,  declare  that  they  have  put  up  with  his 
derelictions  long  enough,  and  will  do  nothing  to 
step  between  him  and  the  Judge's  righteous  in 
dignation." 

The  Pike  Mansion,  "scene  of  festivity,  music, 
and  mirth"  (not  quite  so  unalloyed,  after  all,  the 
stricken  Flitcroft  keeping  his  room  for  a  week  under 
medical  supervision),  had  not  been  the  only  bower 
of  the  dance  in  Canaan  that  evening:  another 
Temple  of  Terpsichore  had  shone  forth  with  lights, 
though  of  these  there  were  not  quite  a  myriad. 
The  festivities  they  illumined  obtained  no  mention 
in  the  paper,  nor  did  they  who  trod  the  measures 
in  this  second  temple  exhibit  any  sense  of  injury 
because  of  the  Tocsin's  omission.  Nay,  they  were 
of  that  class,  shy  without  being  bashful,  exclusive 
yet  not  proud,  which  shuns  publicity  with  a  single- 
heartedness  almost  unique  in  our  republic,  courting 

79 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

observation  neither  in  the  prosecution  of  their  pro 
fessions  nor  in  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

Not  quite  a  mile  above  the  northernmost  of  the 
factories  on  the  water-front,  there  projected  into 
the  river,  near  the  end  of  the  crescent  bend  above 
the  town,  a  long  pier,  relic  of  steamboat  days, 
rotting  now,  and  many  years  fallen  from  its  mari 
time  uses.  About  midway  of  its  length  stood  a 
huge,  crazy  shed, long  ago  utilized  as  a  freight  store 
room.  This  had  been  patched  and  propped,  and 
a  dangerous-looking  veranda  attached  to  it,  over 
hanging  the  water.  Above  the  doorway  was 
placed  a  sign  whereon  might  be  read  the  words, 
"Beaver  Beach,  Mike's  Place."  The  shore  end 
of  the  pier  was  so  ruinous  that  passage  was  offered 
by  a  single  row  of  planks,  which  presented  an 
appearance  so  temporary,  as  well  as  insecure,  that 
one  might  have  guessed  their  office  to  be  something 
in  the  nature  of  a  drawbridge.  From  these  a 
narrow  path  ran  through  a  marsh,  left  by  the  re 
ceding  river,  to  a  country  road  of  desolate  appear 
ance.  Here  there  was  a  rough  enclosure,  or  cor 
ral,  with  some  tumble-down  sheds  which  afforded 
shelter,  on  the  night  of  Joseph  Louden's  disgrace, 
for  a  number  of  shaggy  teams  attached  to  those 
decrepit  and  musty  vehicles  known  picturesquely 
and  accurately  as  Night-Hawks.  The  presence  of 
such  questionable  shapes  in  the  corral  indicated 

80 


BEAVER   BEACH 

that  the  dance  was  on  at  Beaver  Beach,  Mike's 
Place,  as  surely  as  the  short  line  of  cabs  and  family 
carriages  on  upper  Main  Street  made  it  known 
that  gayety  was  the  order  of  the  night  at  the  Pike- 
Mansion.  But  among  other  differences  was  this, 
that  at  the  hour  when  the  guests  of  the  latter  were 
K-aving,  those  seeking  the  hospitalities  of  Beaver 
Beach  had  just  begun  to  arrive. 

By  three  o'clock,  however,  joy  at  Mike's  Place 
had  become  beyond  question  unconfmed,  and  the 
tokens  of  it  were  audible  for  a  long  distance  in  all 
directions.  If,  however,  there  is  no  sound  where 
no  ear  hears,  silence  rested  upon  the  country-side 
until  an  hour  later.  Then  a  lonely  figure  came 
shivering  from  the  direction  of  the  town,  not  by 
the  road,  but  slinking  through  the  snow  upon  the 
frozen  river.  It  came  slowly,  as  though  very 
tired,  and  cautiously,  too,  often  turning  its  head 
to  look  behind.  Finally  it  reached  the  pier,  and 
stopped  as  if  to  listen. 

Within  the  house  above,  a  piano  of  evil  life  was 
being  beaten  to  death  for  its  sins  and  clamoring 
its  last  cries  horribly.  The  old  shed  rattled  in  every 
part  with  the  thud  of  many  heavy  feet,  and  trem 
bled  with  the  shock  of  noise — an  incessant  roar  of 
men's  voices,  punctuated  with  women's  screams. 
Then  the  riot  quieted  somewhat;  there  was  a 
clapping  of  hands,  and  a  violin  began  to  squeak 

Si 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

measures  intended  to  be  Oriental.  The  next 
moment  the  listener  scrambled  up  one  of  the 
rotting  piles  and  stood  upon  the  veranda.  A  shaft 
of  red  light  through  a  broken  shutter  struck  across 
the  figure  above  the  shoulders,  revealing  a  bloody 
handkerchief  clumsily  knotted  about  the  head, 
and,  beneath  it,  the  face  of  Joe  Louden. 

He  went  to  the  broken  shutter  and  looked  in. 
Around  the  blackened  walls  of  the  room  stood  a 
bleared  mob,  applausively  watching,  through  a  fog 
of  smoke,  the  contortions  of  an  old  woman  in  a 
red  calico  wrapper,  who  was  dancing  in  the  centre 
of  the  floor.  The  fiddler  —  a  rubicund  person 
evidently  not  suffering  from  any  great  depression 
of  spirit  through  the  circumstance  of  being  "out 
on  bail,"  as  he  was,  to  Joe's  intimate  knowledge — 
sat  astride  a  barrel,  resting  his  instrument  upon  the 
foamy  tap  thereof,  and  playing  somewhat  after 
the  manner  of  a  'cellist;  in  no  wise  incommoded 
by  the  fact  that  a  tall  man  (known  to  a  few  friends 
as  an  expert  in  the  porch-climbing  line)  was  sleep 
ing  on  his  shoulder,  while  another  gentleman  (who 
had  prevented  many  cases  of  typhoid  by  removing 
old  plumbing  from  houses)  lay  on  the  floor  at  the 
musician's  feet  and  endeavored  to  assist  him  by 
plucking  the  strings  of  the  fiddle. 

Joe  opened  the  door  and  went  in.  All  of  the 
merry  company  (who  were  able)  turned  sharply 

82 


BEAVER   BEACH 

toward  the  door  as  it  opened;  then,  recognizing 
the  new  -  comer,  turned  again  to  watch  the  old 
woman.  One  or  two  nearest  the  door  asked  the 
boy,  without  great  curiosity,  what  had  happened 
to  his  head.  He  merely  shook  it  faintly  in  reply, 
and  crossed  the  room  to  an  open  hallway  beyond. 
At  the  end  of  this  he  came  to  a  frowzy  bedroom, 
the  door  of  which  stood  ajar.  Seated  at  a  deal 
table,  and  working  by  a  dim  lamp  with  a  broken 
chimney,  a  close-cropped,  red-bearded,  red-haired 
man  in  his  shirt  -sleeves  was  jabbing  gloom 
ily  at  a  column  of  figures  scrawled  in  a  dirty 
ledger.  He  looked  up  as  Joe  appeared  in  the 
doorway,  and  his  eyes  showed  a  slight  sur 
prise. 

"  I  never  thought  ye  had  the  temper  to  git  some 
body  to  split  yer  head,"  said  he.  "Where'd  ye 
collect  it?" 

"Nowhere,"  Joe  answered,  dropping  weakly  on 
the  bed.  "It  doesn't  amount  to  anything." 

"  Well,  I'll  take  just  a  look  fer  myself,"  said  the 
red-bearded  man,  rising.  "And  I've  no  objection 
to  not  knowin'  how  ye  come  by  it.  Ye've  always 
been  the  great  one  fer  keepin'  yer  mysteries  to 
yerself." 

He  unwound  the  handkerchief  and  removed  it 
from  Joe's  head  gently.  "Whee!"  he  cried,  as  a 
long  gash  was  exposed  over  the  forehead.  "I 

83 


THE  CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

hope  ye  left  a  mark  somewhere  to  pay  a  little  on 
the  score  o'  this!" 

Joe  chuckled  and  dropped  dizzily  back  upon  the 
pillow.  "There  was  another  who  got  something 
like  it,"  he  gasped,  feebly;  "and,  oh,  Mike,  I  wish 
you  could  have  heard  him  going  on!  Perhaps 
you  did — it  was  only  three  miles  from  here." 

"Nothing  I'd  liked  better!"  said  the  other, 
bringing  a  basin  of  clear  water  from  a  stand  in 
the  corner.  "  It's  a  beautiful  thing  to  hear  a  man 
holler  when  he  gits  a  grand  one  like  ye're  wearing 
to-night." 

He  bathed  the  wound  gently,  and  hurrying  from 
the  room,  returned  immediately  with  a  small  jug 
of  vinegar.  Wetting  a  rag  with  this  tender  fluid, 
he  applied  it  to  Joe's  head,  speaking  soothingly 
the  while. 

"Nothing  in  the  world  like  a  bit  o'  good  cider 
vinegar  to  keep  off  the  festerin'.  It  may  seem  a 
trifle  scratchy  fer  the  moment,  but  it  assassinates 
the  blood-p'ison.  There  ye  go!  It's  the  fine  thing 
fer  ye,  Joe — what  are  ye  squirmin'  about?" 

"  I'm  only  enjoying  it,"  the  boy  answered,  writh 
ing  as  the  vinegar  worked  into  the  gash.  "Don't 
you  mind  my  laughing  to  myself." 

"Ye're  a  good  one.  Joe!"  said  the  other,  con 
tinuing  his  ministrations.  "  I  wisht,  after  all,  ye 
felt  like  makin'  me  known  to  what's  the  trouble. 

84 


BEAVER   BEACH 

There's  some  of  us  would  be  glad  to  take  it  up  fer 
ye,  and— 

"No,  no;  it's  all  right.  I  was  somewhere  1  had 
no  business  to  be,  and  I  got  caught." 

"Who  caught  ye?" 

"First,  some  nice  white  people"-— Joe  smiled 
his  distorted  smile — "and  then  a  low-down  black 
man  helped  me  to  get  away  as  soon  as  he  saw  who 
it  was.  He's  a  friend  of  mine,  and  he  fell  down 
and  tripped  up  the  pursuit." 

"  I  always  knew  ye'd  git  into  large  trouble  some 
day."  The  red-bearded  man  tore  a  strip  from 
an  old  towel  and  began  to  bandage  the  boy's  head 
with  an  accustomed  hand.  "  Yer  taste  fer  excite 
ment  has  been  growin'  on  ye  every  minute  of  the 
four  years  I've  known  ye." 

"Excitement!"  echoed  Joe,  painfully  blinking 
at  his  friend.  "Do  you  think  I'm  hunting  excite 
ment?" 

"Be  hanged  to  ye!"  said  the  red-bearded  man. 
"Can't  I  say  a  teasing  word  without  gittin'  called 
to  order  fer  it  ?  I  know  ye,  my  boy,  as  well  as  ye 
know  yerself.  Ye're  a  queer  one.  Ye're  one  of 
the  few  that  must  know  all  sides  of  the  world — 
and  can't  content  themselves  with  bein'  respect 
able!  Ye  haven't  sunk  to  'low  life'  because  ye're 
low  yourself,  but  ye '11  never  git  a  damned  one  o' 
the  respectable  to  believe  it.  There's  a  few  others 

85 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

like  ye  in  the  wide  world,  and  I've  seen  one  or 
two  of  'em.  I've  been  all  over,  steeple -chasin', 
sailorman,  soldier,  pedler,  and  in  the  ^o-lice;  I've 
pulled  the  Grand  National  in  Paris,  and  I've  been 
handcuffed  in  Hong-Kong;  I've  seen  all  the  few 
kinds  of  women  there  is  on  earth  and  the  many 
kinds  of  men.  Yer  own  kind  is  the  one  I've  seen 
the  fewest  of,  but  I  knew  ye  belonged  to  it  the 
first  time  I  laid  eyes  on  ye!"  He  paused,  then 
continued  with  conviction:  "Ye'll  come  to  no 
good,  either,  fer  yerself,  yet  no  one  can  say  ye 
haven't  the  talents.  Ye've  helped  many  of  the 
boys  out  of  a  bad  hole  with  a  word  of  advice 
around  the  courts  and  the  jail.  Who  knows  but 
ye'd  be  a  great  lawyer  if  ye  kept  on?" 

Young  people  usually  like  to  discuss  themselves 
under  any  conditions — hence  the  rewards  of  palm 
istry, — but  Joe's  comment  on  this  harangue  was 
not  so  responsive  as  might  have  been  expected. 
"I've  got  seven  dollars,"  he  said,  "and  I'll  leave 
the  clothes  I've  got  on.  Can  you  fix  me  up  with 
something  different?" 

"Aha!"  cried  the  red-bearded  man.  "Then  ye 
are  in  trouble!  I  thought  it  'd  come  to  ye  some 
day!  Have  ye  been  dinnymitin'  Martin  Pike?" 

"See  what  you  can  do,"  said  Joe.  "I  want  to 
wait  here  until  daybreak." 

"Lie  down,  then,"  interrupted  the  other.  "And 
86 


BEAVER  BEACH 

fergit  the  hullabaloo  in  the  throne  -  room  be 
yond." 

"  I  can  easily  do  that  " — Joe  stretched  himself 
upon  the  bed, — "  I've  got  so  many  other  things 
to  remember." 

"I'll  have  the  things  fer  ye,  and  I'll  let  ye  know 
I  have  no  use  fer  seven  dollars,"  returned  the  red- 
bearded  man,  crossly.  "  What  are  ye  sniffin'  fer?" 

"I'm  thinking  of  the  poor  fellow  that  got  the 
mate  to  this,"  said  Joe,  touching  the  bandage. 
"I  can't  help  crying  when  I  think  they  may  have 
used  vinegar  on  his  head,  too." 

"  Git  to  sleep  if  ye  can !"  exclaimed  the  Samaritan, 
as  a  hideous  burst  of  noise  came  from  the  dance- 
room,  where  some  one  seemed  to  be  breaking  a 
chair  upon  an  acquaintance.  "I'll  go  out  and 
regulate  the  boys  a  bit."  He  turned  down  the 
lamp,  fumbled  in  his  hip-pocket,  and  went  to  the 
door. 

"Don't  forget,"  Joe  called  after  him. 

"Go  to  sleep,"  said  the  red-bearded  man,  his 
hand  on  the  door-knob.  "That  is,  go  to  thinkin', 
fer  ye  won't  sleep;  ye're  not  the  kind.  But  think 
easy;  I'll  have  the  things  fer  ye.  It's  a  matter  of 
pride  with  me  that  I  always  knew  ye'd  come  to 
trouble." 


VI 

"YE'LL  TAK'  THE  HIGH  ROAD  AND  I'LL  TAK'  THE 
LOW  ROAD  " 

jjHE  day  broke  with  a  scream  of  wind 
lout  of  the  prairies  and  such  cloud 
bursts  of  snow  that  Joe  could  see 
neither  bank  of  the  river  as  he  made 
his  way  down  the  big  bend  of  ice. 
The  wind  struck  so  bitterly  that  now  and  then 
he  stopped  and,  panting  and  gasping,  leaned  his 
weight  against  it.  The  snow  on  the  ground  was 
caught  up  and  flew  like  sea  spume  in  a  hurricane ; 
it  swirled  about  him,  joining  the  flakes  in  the  air, 
so  that  it  seemed  to  be  snowing  from  the  ground 
upward  as  much  as  from  the  sky  downward. 
Fierce  as  it  was,  hard  as  it  was  to  fight  through, 
snow  from  the  earth,  snow  from  the  sky,  Joe  was 
grateful  for  it,  feeling  that  it  veiled  him,  making 
him  safer,  though  he  trusted  somewhat  the  change 
of  costume  he  had  effected  at  Beaver  Beach.  A 
rough,  workman's  cap  was  pulled  down  over  his 
ears  and  eyebrows;  a  knitted  comforter  was  wound 


"YE'LL   TAK'   THE   HIGH  ROAD" 

about  the  lower  part  of  his  face;  under  a  ragged 
overcoat  he  wore  blue  overalls  and  rubber  boots; 
and  in  one  of  his  red-mittened  hands  he  swung  a 
tin  dinner-bucket. 

When  he  reached  the  nearest  of  the  factories  he 
heard  the  exhaust  of  its  engines  long  before  he 
could  see  the  building,  so  blinding  was  the  drift. 
Here  he  struck  inland  from  the  river,  and,  skirting 
the  edges  of  the  town,  made  his  way  by  unfre 
quented  streets  and  alleys,  bearing  in  the  general 
direction  of  upper  Main  Street,  to  find  himself  at 
last,  almost  exhausted,  in  the  alley  behind  the 
Pike  Mansion.  There  he  paused,  leaning  heavily 
against  a  board  fence  and  gazing  at  the  vaguely 
outlined  gray  plane  which  was  all  that  could  be 
made  of  the  house  through  the  blizzard.  He  had 
often,  very  often,  stood  in  this  same  place  at  night, 
and  there  was  one  window  (Mrs.  Pike's)  which  he 
had  guessed  to  be  Mamie's. 

The  storm  was  so  thick  that  he  could  not  see 
this  window  now,  but  he  looked  a  long  time  through 
the  thickness  at  that  part  of  the  gray  plane  where 
he  knew  it  was.  Then  his  lips  parted. 

"Good-bye,  Mamie,"  lie  said,  softly.  "Good 
bye,  Mamie." 

He  bent  his  body  against  the  wind  and  went  on, 
still  keeping  to  the  back  ways,  until  he  came  to 
the  alley  which  passed  behind  his  own  home, 

89 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

where,  however,  he  paused  only  for  a  moment  to 
make  a  quick  survey  of  the  premises.  A  glance 
satisfied  him;  he  ran  to  the  next  fence,  hoisted 
himself  wearily  over  it,  and  dropped  into  Roger 
Tabor's  back  yard. 

He  took  shelter  from  the  wind  for  a  moment  or 
two,  leaning  against  the  fence,  breathing  heavily; 
then  he  stumbled  on  across  the  obliterated  paths 
of  a  vegetable-garden  until  he  reached  the  house, 
and  beginning  with  the  kitchen,  began  to  make 
the  circuit  of  the  windows,  peering  cautiously  into 
each  as  he  went,  ready  to  tap  on  the  pane  should 
he  catch  a  glimpse  of  Ariel,  and  prepared  to  run  if 
he  stumbled  upon  her  grandfather.  But  the  place 
seemed  empty:  he  had  made  his  reconnaisance 
apparently  in  vain,  and  was  on  the  point  of  going 
away,  when  he  heard  the  click  of  the  front  gate 
and  saw  Ariel  coming  towards  him,  her  old  water 
proof  cloak  about  her  head  and  shoulders,  the 
patched,  scant,  faded  skirt,  which  he  knew  so 
well,  blowing  about  her  tumultuously.  At  the 
sound  of  the  gate  he  had  crouched  close  against 
the  side  of  the  house,  but  she  saw  him  at  once. 

She  stopped  abruptly,  and  throwing  the  water 
proof  back  from  her  head,  looked  at  him  through 
the  driven  fog  of  snow.  One  of  her  hands  was 
stretched  towards  him  involuntarily,  and  it  was 
in  that  attitude  that  he  long  remembered  her: 

90 


"YE'LL  TAK'  THE  HIGH  ROAD" 

standing  in  the  drift  which  had  piled  up  against 
the  gate  almost  knee-deep,  the  shabby  skirt  and 
the  black  water-proof  flapping  like  torn  sails,  one 
hand  out-stretched  like  that  of  a  figure  in  a  tab 
leau,  her  brown  face  with  its  thin  features  mottled 
with  cold  and  unlovely,  her  startled  eyes  fixed 
on  him  with  a  strange,  wild  tenderness  that  held 
something  of  the  laughter  of  whole  companion 
ship  in  it  mingling  with  a  loyalty  and  championship 
that  was  almost  ferocious — she  looked  an  Undine 
of  the  snow. 

Suddenly  she  ran  to  him,  still  keeping  her  hand 
out-stretched  until  it  touched  his  own. 

"  How  did  you  know  me?"  he  said. 

"Know  you!"  was  all  the  answer  she  made  to 
that  question.  "Come  into  the  house.  I've  got 
some  coffee  on  the  stove  for  you.  I've  been  up 
and  down  the  street  waiting  for  you  ever  since  it 
began  to  get  light." 

"Your  grandfather  won't — 

"He's  at  Uncle  Jonas's;  he  won't  be  back  till 
noon.  There's  no  one  here." 

She  led  him  to  the  front-door,  where  he  stamped 
and  shook  himself;  he  was  snow  from  head  to  foot. 

"I'm  running  away  from  the  good  Gomorrah," 
he  said,  "but  I've  stopped  to  look  back,  and  I'm  a 
pretty  white  pillar." 

"I  know  where  you  stopped  to  look  back,"  she 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

answered,  brushing  him  heartily  with  her  red 
hands.  "  You  came  in  the  alley  way.  It  was 
Mamie's  window." 

He  did  not  reply,  and  the  only  visible  token 
that  he  had  any  consciousness  of  this  clairvoyance 
of  hers  was  a  slight  lift  of  his  higher  eyebrow. 
She  wasted  no  time  in  getting  him  to  the  kitchen, 
where,  when  she  had  removed  his  overcoat,  she 
placed  him  in  a  chair,  unwound  the  comforter,  and, 
as  carefully  as  a  nurse,  lifted  the  cap  from  his  in 
jured  head.  When  the  strip  of  towel  was  disclosed 
she  stood  quite  still  for  a  moment  with  the  cap  in 
her  hand ;  then  with  a  broken  little  cry  she  stooped 
and  kissed  a  lock  of  his  hair,  \vhich  escaped,  discol 
ored,  beneath  the  bandage. 

"Stop  that!"  he  commanded,  horribly  embar 
rassed. 

"Oh,  Joe,"  she  cried,  "I  knew!  I  knew  it  was 
there — but  to  see  it!  And  it's  my  fault  for  leaving 
you — I  had  to  go  or  I  wouldn't  have — I— 

"  Where'd  you  hear  about  it?"  he  asked,  shortly. 

"I  haven't  been  to  bed,"  she  answered.  " Grand 
father  and  I  were  up  all  night  at  Uncle  Jonas's,  and 
Colonel  Flitcroft  came  about  two  o'clock,  and  he 
told  us." 

"Did  he  tell  you  about  Norbert?" 

"Yes — a  great  deal."  She  poured  coffee  into  a 
cup  from  a  pot  on  the  stove,  brought  it  to  him, 

92 


[OE,    IIAVK    vor    ccn   TO    KIN    A  \v.\v  .' 


"YE'LL  TAK'  THE  HIGH  ROAD" 

then  placing  some  thin  slices  of  bread  upon  a  grid 
iron,  began  to  toast  them  over  the  hot  coals.  "  The 
Colonel  said  that  Norbert  thought  he  wouldn't  get 
well,"  she  concluded;  "and  Mr.  Arp  said  Norbert 
was  the  kind  that  never  die,  and  they  had  quite 
an  argument." 

"  What  were  you  doing  at  Jonas  Tabor's  ?"  asked 
Joe,  drinking  his  coffee  with  a  brightening  eye. 

"We  were  sent  for,"  she  answered. 

"What  for?" 

She  toasted  the  bread  attentively  without  re 
plying,  and  when  she  decided  that  it  was  brown 
enough,  piled  it  on  a  warm  plate.  This  she  brought 
to  him,  and  kneeling  in  front  of  him,  her  elbow  on 
his  knee,  offered  for  his  consideration,  looking 
steadfastly  up  at  his  eyes.  He  began  to  eat  raven 
ously 

"What  for?"  he  repeated.  "I  didn't  suppose 
Jonas  would  let  you  come  in  his  house.  Was  he 
sick?" 

"Joe,"  she  said,  quietly,  disregarding  his  ques 
tions — "Joe,  have  you  got  to  run  away?" 

"Yes,  I've  got  to,"  he  answered. 

"  Would  you  have  to  go  to  prison  if  you  stayed  ?" 
She  asked  this  with  a  breathless  tensity. 

"I'm  not  going  to  beg  father  to  help  me  out," 
he  said,  determinedly.  "He  said  he  wouldn't, 
and  he'll  be  spared  the  chance.  He  won't  mind 

93 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

that;  nobody  will  care!  Nobody!  What  does  any 
body  care  what  7  do!" 

"Now  you're  thinking  of  Mamie!"  she  cried. 
"  I  can  always  tell.  Whenever  you  don't  talk 
naturally  you're  thinking  of  her!" 

He  poured  down  the  last  of  the  coffee,  growing 
red  to  the  tips  of  his  ears.  "Ariel,"  he  said,  "if  I 
ever  come  back— 

"Wait,"  she  interrupted.  "Would  you  have  to 
go  to  prison  right  away  if  they  caught  you?" 

"Oh,  it  isn't  that,"  he  laughed,  sadly.  "But 
I'm  going  to  clear  out.  I'm  not  going  to  take  any 
chances.  I  want  to  see  other  parts  of  the  world, 
other  kinds  of  people.  I  might  have  gone,  anyhow, 
soon,  even  if  it  hadn't  been  for  last  night.  Don't 
you  ever  feel  that  way?" 

"You  know  I  do,"  she  said.  "I've  told  you — 
how  often  !  But,  Joe,  Joe,  —  you  haven't  any 
money!  You've  got  to  have  money  to  live!" 

"You  needn't  worry  about  that,"  returned  the 
master  of  seven  dollars,  genially.  "I've  saved 
enough  to  take  care  of  me  for  a  long  time." 

"Joe,  please!  I  know  it  isn't  so.  If  you  could 
wait  just  a  little  while — only  a  few  weeks, — only  a 
few,  Joe — " 

"What  for?" 

"  I  could  let  you  have  all  you  want.  It  would 
be  such  a  beautiful  thing  for  me,  Joe.  Oh,  I  know 

94 


"YE'LL   TAK'   THE   HIGH   ROAD" 

how  you'd  feel;  you  wouldn't  even  let  me  give  you 
that  dollar  I  found  in  the  street  last  year ;  but  this 
would  be  only  lending  it  to  you,  and  you  could  pay 
me  back  sometime— 

"Ariel!"  he  exclaimed,  and,  setting  his  empty 
cup  upon  the  floor,  took  her  by  the  shoulders  and 
shook  her  till  the  empty  plate  which  had  held  the 
toast  dropped  from  her  hand  and  broke  into  frag 
ments.  "  You've  been  reading  the  Arabian  Nights!" 

"  No,  no,"  she  cried,  vehemently.  "  Grandfather 
would  give  me  anything.  He'll  give  me  all  the 
money  I  ask  for!" 

"Money!"  said  Joe.  "Which  of  us  is  wander 
ing?  Money?  Roger  Tabor  give  you  money?" 

"Not  for  a  while.  A  great  many  things  have 
to  be  settled  first." 

"What  things?" 

"Joe,"  she  asked,  earnestly,  "do  you  think  it's 
bad  of  me  not  to  feel  things  I  ought  to  feel?" 

"No." 

"Then  I'm  glad,"  she  said,  and  something  in 
the  way  she  spoke  made  him  start  with  pain,  re 
membering  the  same  words,  spoken  in  the  same 
tone,  by  another  voice,  the  night  before  on  the 
veranda.  "I'm  glad,  Joe,  because  I  seemed  all 
wrong  to  myself.  Uncle  Jonas  died  last  night, 
and  I  haven't  been  able  to  get  sorry.  Perhaps 
it's  because  I've  been  so  frightened  about  you, 

95 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

but  I  think  not,  for  I  wasn't  sorry  even  before 
Colonel  Flitcroft  told  me  about  you." 

"Jonas  Tabor  dead!"  said  Joe.  "Why,  I  saw 
him  on  the  street  yesterday!" 

"  Yes,  and  I  saw  him  just  before  I  came  out  on 
the  porch  where  you  were.  He  was  there  in  the 
hall;  he  and  Judge  Pike  had  been  having  a  long 
talk;  they'd  been  in  some  speculations  together, 
and  it  had  all  turned  out  well.  It's  very  strange, 
but  they  say  now  that  Uncle  Jonas's  heart  was 
weak  —  he  was  an  old  man,  you  know,  almost 
eighty, — and  he'd  been  very  anxious  about  his 
money.  The  Judge  had  persuaded  him  to  risk  it ; 
and  the  shock  of  finding  that  he'd  made  a  great 
deal  suddenly— 

"I've  heard  he'd  had  that  same  shock  before," 
said  Joe,  "when  he  sold  out  to  your  father." 

"Yes,  but  this  was  different,  grandfather  says. 
He  told  me  it  was  in  one  of  those  big  risky  busi 
nesses  that  Judge  Pike  likes  to  go  into.  And  last 
night  it  was  all  finished,  the  strain  was  over,  and 
Uncle  Jonas  started  home.  His  house  is  only  a 
little  way  from  the  Pikes',  you  know;  but  he 
dropped  down  in  the  snow  at  his  own  gate,  and 
some  people  who  were  going  by  saw  him  fall.  He 
was  dead  before  grandfather  got  there." 

"I  can't  be  sorry,"  said  Joe,  slowly. 

"Neither  can  I.  That's  the  dreadful  part  of  it! 
96 


"YE'LL   TAK'   THE   HIGH   ROAD" 

They  say  he  hadn't  made  a  will,  that  though  he 
was  sharper  than  anybody  else  in  the  whole  world 
about  any  other  matter  of  business,  that  was  the 
one  thing  he  put  off.  And  we're  all  the  kin  he  had 
in  the  world,  grandfather  and  I.  And  they  say  "- 
her  voice  sank  to  a  whisper  of  excitement — "they 
say  he  was  richer  than  anybody  knew,  and  that 
this  last  business  with  Judge  Pike,  the  very  thing 
that  killed  him  —  something  about  grain  —  made 
him  five  times  richer  than  before!" 

She  put  her  hand  on  the  boy's  arm,  and  he  let 
it  remain  there.  Her  eyes  still  sought  his  with 
a  tremulous  appeal. 

"God  bless  you,  Ariel!"  he  said.  "It's  going 
to  be  a  great  thing  for  you." 

"Yes.  Yes,  it  is."  The  tears  came  suddenly 
to  her  eyes.  "  I  was  foolish  last  night,  but  there 
had  been  such  a  long  time  of  wanting  things ;  and 
now — and  now  grandfather  and  I  can  go— 

"You're  going,  too!"  Joe  chuckled. 

"It's  heartless,  I  suppose,  but  I've  settled  it! 
We're  going— 

"7  know,"  he  cried.  "You've  told  me  a  thou 
sand  times  what  he's  said  ten  times  a  thousand. 
You're  going  to  Paris!" 

"Paris!  Yes,  that's  it.  To  Paris,  where  he 
can  see  at  last  how  the  great  ones  have  painted,— 
where  the  others  can  show  him!  To  Paris,  where 

97 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

we  can  study  together,  where  he  can  learn  how  to 
put  the  pictures  he  sees  upon  canvas,  and  where 
I—" 

"Go  on,"  Joe  encouraged  her.  "I  want  to  hear 
you  say  it.  You  don't  mean  that  you're  going  to 
study  painting;  you  mean  that  you're  going  to 
learn  how  to  make  such  fellows  as  Eugene  ask  you 
to  dance.  Go  ahead  and  say  it!" 

"Yes — to  learn  how  to  dress!"  she  said. 

Joe  was  silent  for  a  moment.  Then  he  rose  and 
took  the  ragged  overcoat  from  the  back  of  his 
chair.  "Where's  that  muffler?"  he  asked. 

She  brought  it  from  where  she  had  placed  it  to 
dry,  behind  the  stove. 

"Joe,"  she  said,  huskily,  "can't  you  wait  till — 

"Till  the  estate  is  settled  and  you  can  coax  your 
grandfather  to— 

"No,  no!     But  you  could  go  with  us." 

"To  Paris?" 

"He  would  take  you  as  his  secretary." 

"Aha!"  Joe's  voice  rang  out  gayly  as  he  rose, 
refreshed  by  the  coffee,  toast,  and  warmth  she  had 
given  him.  "You've  been  story  -  reading,  Ariel, 
like  Eugene!  'Secretary'!" 

"Please,  Joe!" 

"Where's  my  tin  dinner-pail?"  He  found  it 
himself  upon  the  table  where  he  had  set  it  down. 
"I'm  going  to  earn  a  dishonest  living,"  he  went 

98 


"YE'LL   TAK'   THE   HIGH  ROAD" 

on.  "I  have  an  engagement  to  take  a  freight  at 
a  water-tank  that's  a  friend  of  mine,  half  a  mile 
south  of  the  yards.  Thank  God,  I'm  going  to  get 
away  from  Canaan!" 

"Wait,  Joe!"  She  caught  at  his  sleeve.  "I 
want  you  to — 

He  had  swung  out  of  the  room  and  was  already 
at  the  front -door.  She  followed  him  closely. 
"Good-bye,  Ariel!" 

"No,  no!     Wait,  Joe!" 

He  took  her  right  hand  in  his  own,  and  gave  it 
a  manly  shake.  "It's  all  right,"  he  said. 

He  threw  open  the  door  and  stepped  out,  but 
she  sought  to  detain  him.  "Oh,  have  you  got  to 
go?"  she  cried. 

"Don't  you  ever  worry  about  me."  He  bent 
his  head  to  the  storm  as  he  sprang  down  the  steps, 
and  snow-wreaths  swirled  between  them. 

He  disappeared  in  a  white  whirlwind. 

She  stood  for  several  minutes  shivering  in  the 
doorway.  Then  it  came  to  her  that  she  would  not 
know  where  to  write  to  him.  She  ran  down  to 
the  gate  and  through  it.  Already  the  blizzard 
had  covered  his  footprints. 


VII 

GIVE  A  DOG  A   BAD  NAME" 

JHE  passing  of  Joseph  from  Canaan 
was  complete.  It  was  an  evanish- 
ment  for  which  there  was  neither 
sackcloth  nor  surprise;  and  though 
there  came  no  news  of  him  it  can 
not  be  said  that  Canaan  did  not  hear  of  him,  for 
surely  it  could  hear  itself  talk.  The  death  of 
Jonas  Tabor  and  young  Louden 's  crime  and  flight 
incited  high  doings  in  the  "National  House"  win 
dows;  many  days  the  sages  lingered  with  the 
broken  meats  of  morals  left  over  from  the  banquet 
of  gossip.  But,  after  all,  it  is  with  the  ladies  of  a 
community  that  reputations  finally  rest,  and  the 
matrons  of  Canaan  had  long  ago  made  Joe's  ex 
ceedingly  uncertain.  Now  they  made  it  certain. 
They  did  not  fail  of  assistance.  The  most  pow 
erful  influence  in  the  town  was  ponderously  cor 
roborative:  Martin  Pike,  who  stood  for  all  that 
was  respectable  and  financial,  who  passed  the  plate 
o'  Sundays,  who  held  the  fortunes  of  the  town  in 

100 


"GIVE   A   DOG   A  BAD   NAME" 

liis  left  hand,  who  was  trustee  for  the  widow  and 
orphan, — Martin  Pike,  patron  of  all  worthy  chari 
ties,  courted  by  ministers,  feared  by  the  wicked 
and  idle,  revered  by  the  good, — Judge  Martin  Pike 
never  referred  to  the  runaway  save  in  the  accents 
of  an  august  doomster.  His  testimony  settled  it. 

In  time  the  precise  nature  of  the  fugitive's  sins 
was  distorted  in  report  and  grew  vague ;  it  was  re 
called  that  he  had  done  dread  things;  he  became 
a  tradition,  a  legend,  and  a  warning  to  the  young; 
a  Richard  in  the  bush  to  frighten  colts.  He  was 
preached  at  boys  caught  playing  marbles  "for 
keeps":  "Do  you  want  to  grow  up  like  Joe  Lou 
den?"  The  very  name  became  a  darkling  threat, 
and  children  of  the  town  would  have  run  had  one 
called  suddenly,  "Here  comes  Joe  Louden!"  Thus 
does  the  evil  men  do  live  after  them,  and  the  ill- 
fame  of  the  unrighteous  increase  when  they  are 
sped! 

Very  little  of  Joseph's  adventures  and  occupa 
tions  during  the  time  of  his  wandering  is  revealed 
to  us;  he  always  had  an  unwilling  memory  for  pain 
and  was  not  afterwards  wont  to  speak  of  those 
years  which  cut  the  hard  lines  in  his  face.  The 
first  account  of  him  to  reach  Canaan  came  as 
directly  to  the  windows  of  the  "National  House" 
as  Mr.  Arp,  hastening  thither  from  the  station, 
satchel  in  hand,  could  bring  it. 

101 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

This  was  on  a  September  morning,  two  years 
after  the  flight,  and  Eskew,  it  appears,  had  been 
to  the  State  Fair  and  had  beheld  many  things 
strangely  affirming  his  constant  testimony  that 
this  unhappy  world  increaseth  in  sin;  strangest  of 
all,  his  meeting  with  our  vagrant  scalawag  of 
Canaan.  "Not  a  blamebit  of  doubt  about  it,"  de 
clared  Eskew  to  the  incredulous  conclave.  "  There 
was  that  Joe,  and  nobody  else,  stuck  up  in  a  little 
box  outside  a  tent  at  the  Fair  Grounds,  and  sellin' 
tickets  to  see  the  Spotted  Wild  Boy!"  Yes,  it  was 
Joe  Louden!  Think  you,  Mr.  Arp  could  forget 
that  face,  those  crooked  eyebrows?  Had  Eskew 
tested  the  recognition?  Had  he  spoken  with  the 
outcast?  Had  he  not!  Ay,  but  with  such  pe 
culiar  result  that  the  battle  of  words  among  the 
sages  began  with  a  true  onset  of  the  regulars;  for, 
according  to  Eskew's  narrative,  when  he  had  de 
livered  grimly  at  the  boy  this  charge,  "  I  know  you 
— you're  Joe  Louden!"  the  extraordinary  reply  had 
been  made  promptly  and  without  change  of  coun 
tenance:  ''Positively  no  free  seats!" 

On  this,  the  house  divided,  one  party  main 
taining  that  Joe  had  thus  endeavored  to  evade 
recognition,  the  other  (to  the  embitterment  of  Mr. 
Arp)  that  the  reply  was  a  distinct  admission  of 
identity  and  at  the  same  time  a  refusal  to  grant 
any  favors  on  the  score  of  past  acquaintanceship. 

102 


'POSITIVELY   A'O    FRKE   SKATS ! 


"GIVE   A   DOG   A   BAD   NAME" 

Goaded  by  inquiries,  Mr.  Arp,  who  had  little  desire 
to  recall  such  waste  of  silver,  admitted  more  than 
he  had  intended:  that  he  had  purchased  a  ticket 
and  gone  in  to  see  the  Spotted  Wild  Boy,  halting 
in  his  description  of  this  marvel  with  the  unsatis 
factory  and  acrid  statement  that  the  Wild  Boy  was 
"simply  spotted,"  and  the  stung  query,  "I  suppose 
you  know  what  a  spot  -is,  Squire  ?"  When  he  came 
out  of  the  tent  he  had  narrowly  examined  the 
ticket-seller, — who  seemed  unaware  of  his  scrutiny, 
and,  when  not  engaged  with  his  tickets,  applied 
himself  to  a  dirty  law  -  looking  book.  It  was 
Joseph  Louden,  reasserted  Eskew,  a  little  taller,  a 
little  paler,  incredibly  shabby  and  miraculously 
thin.  If  there  were  any  doubt  left,  his  forehead 
was  somewhat  disfigured  by  the  scar  of  an  old 
wound — such  as  might  have  been  caused  by  a 
blunt  instrument  in  the  nature  of  a  poker. 

"What's  the  matter  with  you  ?"  Mr.  Arp 
whirled  upon  Uncle  Joe  Davey,  who  was  enjoying 
himself  by  repeating  at  intervals  the  unreasonable 
words,  "Couldn't  of  be'n  Joe,"  without  any  ex 
planation.  "Why  couldn't  it?"  shouted  Eskew. 
"It  was!  Do  you  think  my  eyes  are  as  fur  gone 
as  yours ?  I  saw  him,  I  tell  you!  The  same  ornery 
Joe  Louden,  run  away  and  sellin'  tickets  for  a  side 
show.  He  wasn't  even  the  boss  of  it;  the  manager 
was  about  the  meanest -lookin'  human  I  ever  saw 
a  103 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

—and  most  humans  look  mighty  mean,  accordin' 
to  my  way  of  thinkin' !  Riffraff  of  the  riffraff  are 
his  friends  now,  same  as  they  were  here.  Weeds! 
and  he's  a  weed,  always  was  and  always  will  be! 
Him  and  his  kind  ain't  any  more  than  jimpsons; 
overrun  everything  if  you  give  'em  a  chance. 
Devil-flowers!  They  have  to  be  hoed  out  and 
scattered — even  then,  like  as  not,  they'll  come 
back  next  year  and  ruin  your  plantin'  once  more. 
That  boy  Joe  '11  turn  up  here  again  some  day; 
you'll  see  if  he  don't.  He's  a  seed  of  trouble  and 
iniquity,  and  anything  of  that  kind  is  sure  to  come 
back  to  Canaan!" 

Mr.  Arp  stuck  to  his  prediction  for  several 
months;  then  he  began  to  waver  and  evade.  By 
the  end  of  the  second  year  following  its  first  utter 
ance,  he  had  formed  the  habit  of  denying  that  he 
had  ever  made  it  at  all,  and,  finally  having  come 
to  believe  with  all  his  heart  that  the  prophecy  had 
been  deliberately  foisted  upon  him  and  put  in  his 
mouth  by  Squire  Buckalew,  became  so  sore  upon 
the  subject  that  even  the  hardiest  dared  not  refer 
to  it  in  his  presence. 

Eskew's  story  of  the  ticket-seller  was  the  only 
news  of  Joe  Louden  that  came  to  Canaan  during 
seven  years.  Another  citizen  of  the  town  encoun 
tered  the  wanderer,  however,  but  under  circum 
stances  so  susceptible  to  misconception  that,  in  a 

104 


"GIVE   A   DOG   A   BAD   NAME" 

moment  of  illumination,  he  decided  to  let  the  matter 
rest  in  a  golden  silence.  This  was  Mr.  Bantry. 

Having  elected  an  elaborate  course  in  the  Arts, 
at  the  University  which  was  of  his  possessions, 
what  more  natural  than  that  Eugene  should  seek 
the  Metropolis  for  the  short  Easter  vacation  of 
his  Senior  year,  in  order  that  his  perusal  of  the 
Masters  should  be  uninterrupted  ?  But  it  was  his 
misfortune  to  find  the  Metropolitan  Museum  less 
interesting  than  some  intricate  phases  of  the  gayety 
of  New  York — phases  very  difficult  to  understand 
without  elaborate  study  and  a  series  of  experiments 
which  the  discreetly  selfish  permit  others  to  make 
for  them.  Briefly,  Eugene  found  himself  dancing, 
one  night,  with  a  young  person  in  a  big  hat,  at  the 
"Straw-Cellar,"  a  crowded  hall,  down  very  deep 
in  the  town  and  not  at  all  the  place  for  Eugene. 

Acute  crises  are  to  be  expected  at  the  "Straw- 
Cellar,"  and  Eugene  was  the  only  one  present  who 
was  thoroughly  surprised  when  that  of  this  night 
arrived,  though  all  of  the  merrymakers  were 
frightened  when  they  perceived  its  extent.  There 
is  no  need  to  detail  the  catastrophe.  It  came  sud 
denly,  and  the  knife  did  not  flash.  Sick  and  think 
ing  of  himself,  Eugene  stood  staring  at  the  figure 
lying  before  him  upon  the  reddening  floor.  A  rab 
ble  fought  with  the  quick  policemen  at  the  doors, 
and  then  the  lights  went  out,  extinguished  by  the 


THE  CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

proprietor,  living  up  to  his  reputation  for  always 
being  thoughtful  of  his  patrons.  The  place  had 
been  a  nightmare ;  it  became  a  black  impossibility. 
Eugene  staggered  to  one  of  the  open  windows,  from 
the  sill  of  which  a  man  had  just  leaped. 

"Don't  jump,"  said  a  voice  close  to  his  ear. 
"That  fellow  broke  his  leg,  I  think,  and  they 
caught  him,  anyway,  as  soon  as  he  struck  the 
pavement.  It's  a  big  raid.  Come  this  way." 

A  light  hand  fell  upon  his  arm  and  he  followed 
its  leading,  blindly,  to  find  himself  pushed  through 
a  narrow  doorway  and  down  a  flight  of  tricky, 
wooden  steps,  at  the  foot  of  which,  silhouetted 
against  a  street  light,  a  tall  policeman  was  on  guard. 
He  laid  masterful  hands  on  Eugene. 

'  'Sh,  Mack!"  whispered  a  cautious  voice  from 
the  stairway.  "That's  a  friend  of  mine  and  not 
one  of  those  you  need.  He's  only  a  student  and 
scared  to  death." 

"Hurry,"  said  the  policeman,  under  his  breath, 
twisting  Eugene  sharply  by  him  into  the  street; 
after  which  he  stormed  vehemently :  "  On  yer  way, 
both  of  ye!  Move  on  up  the  street!  Don't  be 
tryin'  to  poke  yer  heads  in  here!  Ye'd  be  more 
anxious  to  git  out,  once  ye  got  in,  I  tell  ye!" 

A  sob  of  relief  came  from  Bantry  as  he  gained 
the  next  corner,  the  slight  figure  of  his  conductor 
at  his  side.  "You'd  better  not  go  to  places  like 

106 


"GIVE  A  DOG  A  BAD   NAME" 

the  '  Straw-Cellar,' "  said  the  latter,  gravely.  "  I'd 
been  watching  you  for  an  hour.  You  were  dancing 
with  the  girl  who  did  the  cutting." 

Eugene  leaned  against  a  wall,  faint,  one  arm 
across  his  face.  He  was  too  ill  to  see,  or  care,  who 
it  was  that  had  saved  him.  "  I  never  saw  her  be 
fore,"  he  babbled,  incoherently,  "never,  never, 
never!  I  thought  she  looked  handsome,  and 
asked  her  if  she'd  dance  with  me.  Then  I  saw 
she  seemed  queer — and  wild,  and  she  kept  guiding 
and  pushing  as  we  danced  until  we  were  near  that 
man — and  then  she — then  it  was  all  done — be 
fore—" 

"Yes,"  said  the  other;  "she's  been  threatening 
to  do  it  for  a  long  time.  Jealous.  Mighty  good 
sort  of  a  girl,  though,  in  lots  of  ways.  Only  yester 
day  I  talked  with  her  and  almost  thought  I'd 
calmed  her  out  of  it.  But  you  can't  tell  with  some 
women.  They'll  brighten  up  and  talk  straight 
and  seem  sensible,  one  minute,  and  promise  to  be 
have,  and  mean  it  too,  and  the  next,  there  they  go, 
making  a  scene,  cutting  somebody  or  killing  them 
selves!  You  can't  count  on  them.  But  that's 
not  to  the  point,  exactly,  I  expect.  You'd  better 
keep  away  from  the  '  Straw -Cellar.'  If  you'd  been 
caught  with  the  rest  you'd  have  had  a  hard  time, 
and  they'd  have  found  out  your  real  name,  too, 
because  it's  pretty  serious  on  account  of  your 

107 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

dancing  with  her  when  she  did  it,  and  the  Ca 
naan  papers  would  have  got  hold  of  it  and  you 
wouldn't  be  invited  to  Judge  Pike's  any  more, 
Eugene." 

Eugene  dropped  his  arm  from  his  eyes  and  stared 
into  the  face  of  his  step-brother. 

"Joe  Louden!"  he  gasped. 

"I'll  never  tell,"  said  Joe.  "You'd  better  keep 
out  of  all  this  sort.  You  don't  understand  it,  and 
you  don't — you  don't  do  it  because  you  care." 
He  smiled  wanly,  his  odd  distorted  smile  of  friend 
liness.  "  When  you  go  back  you  might  tell  father 
I'm  all  right.  I'm  working  through  a  law-school 
here — and  remember  me  to  Norbert  Flitcroft,"  he 
finished,  with  a  chuckle. 

Eugene  covered  his  eyes  again  and  groaned. 

"It's  all  right,"  Joe  assured  him.  "You're  as 
safe  as  if  it  had  never  happened.  And  I  expect" 
— he  went  on,  thoughtfully  —  "I  expect,  maybe, 
you'd  prefer  not  to  say  you'd  seen  me,  when  you  go 
back  to  Canaan.  Well,  that's  all  right.  I  don't 
suppose  father  will  be  asking  after  me — exactly." 

"No,  he  doesn't,"  said  Eugene,  still  white  and 
shaking.  "Don't  stand  talking.  I'm  sick." 

"Of  course,"  returned  Joe.  "But  there's  one 
thing  I  would  like  to  ask  you — " 

"Your  father's  health  is  perfect,  I  believe." 

"  It — it — it  was  something  else,"  Joe  stammered, 
1 08 


"GIVE  A  DOG  A  BAD  NAME" 

pitifully.  "  Are  they  all — are  they  all — all  right  at 
—at  Judge  Pike's?" 

"  Quite  '."Eugene  replied,  sharply.  "  Are  you  going 
to  get  me  away  from  here ?  I'm  sick,  I  tell  you!" 

"  This  street, "said  Joe,  and  cheerfully  led  the  way. 

Five  minutes  later  the  two  had  parted,  and  Joe 
leaned  against  a  cheap  restaurant  sign-board, 
drearily  staring  after  the  lamps  of  the  gypsy  night- 
cab  he  had  found  for  his  step-brother.  Eugene 
had  not  offered  to  share  the  vehicle  with  him,  had 
not  even  replied  to  his  good-night. 

And  Joe  himself  had  neglected  to  do  something 
he  might  well  have  done:  he  had  not  asked  Eugene 
for  news  of  Ariel  Tabor.  It  will  not  justify  him 
entirely  to  suppose  that  he  assumed  that  her 
grandfather  and  she  had  left  Canaan  never  to 
return,  and  therefore  Eugene  knew  nothing  of  her ; 
no  such  explanation  serves  Joe  for  his  neglect,  for 
the  fair  truth  is  that  he  had  not  thought  of  her. 
She  had  been  a  sort  of  playmate,  before  his  flight, 
a  friend  taken  for  granted,  about  whom  he  had 
consciously  thought  little  more  than  he  thought 
about  himself  —  and  easily  forgotten.  Not  for 
gotten  in  the  sense  that  she  had  passed  out  of  his 
memory,  but  forgotten  none  the  less;  she  had 
never  had  a  place  in  his  imaginings,  and  so  it  be 
fell  that  when  he  no  longer  saw  her  from  day  to 
day,  she  had  gone  from  his  thoughts  altogether. 

log 


VIII 

A    BAD    PENNY    TURNS    UP 

'UGENE  did  not  inform  Canaan,  nor 
any  inhabitant,  of  his  adventure  of 
the  "Straw -Cellar,"  nor  did  any  hear 
of  his  meeting  with  his  step-brother; 
and  after  Mr.  Arp's  adventure,  five 
years  passed  into  the  imperishable  before  the  town 
heard  of  the  wanderer  again,  and  then  it  heard  at 
first  hand;  Mr.  Arp's  prophecy  fell  true,  and  he 
took  it  back  to  his  bosom  again,  claimed  it  as  his 
own  the  morning  of  its  fulfilment.  Joe  Louden 
had  come  back  to  Canaan. 

The  elder  Louden  was  the  first  to  know  of  his 
prodigal's  return.  He  was  alone  in  the  office  of 
the  wooden-butter-dish  factory,  of  which  he  was 
the  superintendent,  when  the  young  man  came  in 
unannounced.  He  was  still  pale  and  thin;  his 
eyebrows  had  the  same  crook,  one  corner  of  his 
mouth  the  same  droop;  he  was  only  an  inch  or  so 
taller,  not  enough  to  be  thought  a  tall  man;  and 
yet,  for  a  few  moments  the  father  did  not  recognize 

no 


A   BAD   PENNY   TURNS   UP 

his  son,  but  stared  at  him,  inquiring  his  business. 
During  those  few  seconds  of  unrecognition,  Mr. 
Louden  was  somewhat  favorably  impressed  with 
the  stranger's  appearance. 

"You  don't  know  me,"  said  Joe,  smiling  cheer 
fully.  "Perhaps  I've  changed  in  seven  years." 
And  he  held  out  his  hand. 

Then  Mr.  Louden  knew;  he  tilted  back  in  his 
desk-chair,  his  mouth  falling  open.  "Good  God!" 
he  said,  not  noticing  the  out-stretched  hand.  "  Have 
you  come  back?" 

Joe's  hand  fell. 

"Yes,  I've  come  back  to  Canaan." 

Mr.  Louden  looked  at  him  a  long  time  without 
replying;  finally  he  remarked: 

"  I  see  you've  still  got  a  scar  on  your  forehead." 

"Oh,  I've  forgotten  all  about  that,"  said  the 
other,  twisting  his  hat  in  his  hands.  "  Seven  years 
wipes  out  a  good  many  grievances  and  wrongs." 

"You  think  so?"  Mr.  Louden  grunted.  "I  sup 
pose  it  might  wipe  out  a  good  deal  with  some  peo 
ple.  How'd  you  happen  to  stop  off  at  Canaan? 
On  your  way  somewhere,  I  suppose." 

"No,  I've  come  back  to  stay." 

Mr.  Louden  plainly  received  this  as  no  pleasant 
surprise.  "What  for?"  he  asked,  slowly. 

"To  practise  law,  father." 

"What!" 

in 


THE  CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

"Yes,"  said  the  young  man.  "There  ought  to 
be  an  opening  here  for  me.  I'm  a  graduate  of  as 
good  a  law-school  as  there  is  in  the  country— 

"You  are!" 

"Certainly,"  said  Joe,  quietly.  "I've  put  my 
self  through,  working  in  the  summer — 

"Working!"  Mr.  Louden  snorted.  "Side 
shows?" 

"Oh,  worse  than  that,  sometimes,"  returned  his 
son,  laughing.  "Anything  I  could  get.  But  I've 
always  wanted  to  come  back  home  and  work  here." 

Mr.  Louden  leaned  forward,  a  hand  on  each 
knee,  his  brow  deeply  corrugated.  "  Do  you  think 
you'll  get  much  practice  in  Canaan?" 

"Why  not?  I've  had  a  year  in  a  good  office  in 
New  York  since  I  left  the  school,  and  I  think  I 
ought  to  get  along  all  right." 

"Oh,"  said  Mr.  Louden,  briefly.     "You  do?" 

"Yes.     Don't  you?" 

"  Who  do  you  think  in  Canaan  would  put  a  case 
in  your  hands?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  expect  to  get  anything  important 
at  the  start.  But  after  a  while — " 

"With  your  reputation?" 

The  smile  which  had  faded  from  Joe's  lips  re 
turned  to  them.  "Oh,  I  know  they  thought  I 
was  a  harum-scarum  sort  of  boy,"  he  answered, 
lightly,  "and  that  it  was  a  foolish  thing  to  run 


A   BAD   PENNY   TURNS   UP 

away  for  nothing;  but  you  had  said  I  mustn't  come 
to  you  for  help— 

"I  meant  it,"  said  Mr.  Louden. 

"  But  that's  seven  years  ago,  and  I  suppose  the 
town's  forgotten  all  about  it,  and  forgotten  me, 
too.  So,  you  see,  I  can  make  a  fresh  start.  That's 
what  I  came  back  for." 

"  You've  made  up  your  mind  to  stay  here,  then  ?" 

"Yes." 

"  I  don't  believe,"  said  Mr.  Louden,  with  marked 
uneasiness,  "  that  Mrs.  Louden  would  be  willing  to 
let  you  live  with  us." 

"No,"  said  Joe,  gently.  "I  didn't  expect  it." 
He  turned  to  the  window  and  looked  out,  averting 
his  face,  yet  scoring  himself  with  the  contempt 
he  had  learned  to  feel  for  those  who  pity  them 
selves.  His  father  had  not  even  asked  him  to 
sit  down.  There  was  a  long  silence,  disturbed  only 
by  Mr.  Louden's  breathing,  which  could  be  heard, 
heavy  and  troubled. 

At  last  Joe  turned  again,  smiling  as  before. 
"  Well,  I  won't  keep  you  from  your  work,"  he  said. 
"  I  suppose  you're  pretty  busy— 

"Yes,  I  am,"  responded  his  father,  promptly. 
"  But  I'll  see  you  again  before  you  go.  I  want  to 
give  you  some  advice." 

"I'm  not  going,"  said  Joe.  "Not  going  to 
leave  Canaan,  I  mean.  Where  will  I  find  Eugene  ?" 

"3 


THE  CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

"At  the  Tocsin  office;  he's  the  assistant  editor. 
Judge  Pike  bought  the  Tocsin  last  year,  and  he 
thinks  a  good  deal  of  Eugene.  Don't  forget  I  said 
to  come  to  see  me  again  before  you  go." 

Joe  came  over  to  the  older  man  and  held  out 
his  hand.  "Shake  hands,  father,"  he  said.  Mr. 
Louden  looked  at  him  out  of  small  implacable 
eyes,  the  steady  hostility  of  which  only  his  wife 
or  the  imperious  Martin  Pike,  his  employer,  could 
quell.  He  shook  his  head. 

"I  don't  see  any  use  in  it,"  he  answered.  "It 
wouldn't  mean  anything.  All  my  life  I've  been 
a  hard-working  man  and  an  abiding  man.  Before 
you  got  in  trouble  you  never  did  anything  you 
ought  to;  you  ran  with  the  lowest  people  in  town, 
and  I  and  all  your  folks  were  ashamed  of  you.  I 
don't  see  that  we've  got  a  call  to  be  any  different 
now."  He  swung  round  to  his  desk  emphatically, 
on  the  last  word,  and  Joe  turned  away  and  went 
out  quietly. 

But  it  was  a  bright  morning  to  which  he  emerged 
from  the  outer  doors  of  the  factory,  and  he  made 
his  way  towards  Main  Street  at  a  lively  gait.  As  he 
turned  the  corner  opposite  the  "  National  House," 
he  walked  into  Mr.  Eskew  Arp.  The  old  man 
drew  back  angrily 

"Lord  'a'  mercy!"  cried  Joe,  heartily.  "It's 
Mr.  Arp!  I  almost  ran  you  down!"  Then,  as 

114 


A  BAD  PENNY  TURNS   UP 

Mr.  Arp  made  no  response,  but  stood  stock-still  in 
the  way,  staring  at  him  fiercely,  "  Don't  you  know 
me,  Mr.  Arp?"  the  young  man  asked.  "I'm  Joe 
Louden." 

Eskew  abruptly  thrust  his  face  close  to  the 
other's.  " No  free  seats!"  he  hissed,  savagely;  and 
swept  across  to  the  hotel  to  set  his  world  afire. 

Joe  looked  after  the  irate,  receding  figure,  and 
watched  it  disappear  into  the  Main  Street  door  of 
the  "  National  House."  As  the  door  closed,  he  be 
came  aware  of  a  mighty  shadow  upon  the  pave 
ment,  and  turning,  beheld  a  fat  young  man,  wear 
ing  upon  his  forehead  a  scar  similar  to  his  own, 
waddling  by  with  eyes  fixed  upon  him. 

"How  are  you,  Norbert?"  Joe  began.  "Don't 
you  remember  me  ?  I — "  He  came  to  a  full  stop, 
as  the  fat  one,  thrusting  out  an  under  lip  as  his 
only  token  of  recognition,  passed  balefully  on. 

Joe  proceeded  slowly  until  he  came  to  the  Tocsin 
building.  At  the  foot  of  the  stairway  leading  up 
to  the  offices  he  hesitated  for  a  few  moments ;  then 
he  turned  away  and  walked  towards  the  quieter 
part  of  Main  Street.  Most  of  the  people  he  met 
took  no  notice  of  him,  only  two  or  three  giving  him 
second  glances  of  half-cognizance,  as  though  he 
reminded  them  of  some  one  they  could  not  place, 
and  it  was  not  until  he  had  come  near  the  Pike 
Mansion  that  he  saw  a  full  recognition  in  the  eyes 

"5 


THE  CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

of  one  of  the  many  whom  he  knew,  and  who  had 
known  him  in  his  boyhood  in  the  town.  A  lady, 
turning  a  corner,  looked  up  carelessly,  and  then 
half-stopped  within  a  few  feet  of  him,  as  if  startled. 
Joe's  cheeks  went  a  sudden  crimson ;  for  it  was  the 
lady  of  his  old  dreams. 

Seven  years  had  made  Mamie  Pike  only  prettier. 
She  had  grown  into  her  young  womanhood  with 
an  ampleness  that  had  nothing  of  oversufficiency 
in  it,  nor  anywhere  a  threat  that  some  day  there 
might  be  too  much  of  her.  Not  quite  seventeen 
when  he  had  last  seen  her,  now,  at  twenty-four,  her 
amber  hair  elaborately  becoming  a  plump  and 
regular  face,  all  of  her  old  charm  came  over  him 
once  more,  and  it  immediately  seemed  to  him  that 
he  saw  clearly  his  real  reason  for  coming  back  to 
Canaan.  She  had  been  the  Rich-Little-Girl  of  his 
child  days,  the  golden  princess  playing  in  the 
Palace -Grounds,  and  in  his  early  boyhood  (until 
he  had  grown  wicked  and  shabby)  he  had  been 
sometimes  invited  to  the  Pike  Mansion  for  the 
games  and  ice-cream  of  the  daughter  of  the  house, 
before  her  dancing  days  began.  He  had  gone 
timidly,  not  daring  ever  to  "call "her  in  "Quaker 
Meeting"  or  "Post-office,"  but  watching  her  rev 
erently  and  surreptitiously  and  continually.  She 
had  always  seemed  to  him  the  one  thing  of  all  the 
world  most  rare,  most  mysterious,  most  unap- 

116 


A  BAD   PENNY  TURNS  UP 

proachable.  She  had  not  offered  an  apparition 
less  so  in  those  days  when  he  began  to  come  under 
the  suspicion  of  Canaan,  when  the  old  people  be 
gan  to  look  upon  him  hotly,  the  young  people 
coldly.  His  very  exclusion  wove  for  him  a  glamour 
about  her,  and  she  was  more  than  ever  his  moon, 
far,  lovely,  unattainable,  and  brilliant,  never  to  be 
reached  by  his  lifted  arms,  but  only  by  his  lifted 
eyes.  Nor  had  his  long  absence  obliterated  that 
light;  somewhere  in  his  dreams  it  always  had 
place,  shining,  perhaps,  with  a  fainter  lustre  as  the 
years  grew  to  seven,  but  never  gone  altogether. 
Now,  at  last,  that  he  stood  in  her  very  presence 
again,  it  sprang  to  the  full  flood  of  its  old  brilliance 
— and  more! 

As  she  came  to  her  half-stop  of  surprise,  startled, 
he  took  his  courage  in  two  hands,  and,  lifting  his 
hat,  stepped  to  her  side. 

"You — you  remember  me?"  he  stammered. 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  a  little  breathlessly. 

"Ah,  that's  kind  of  you!"  he  cried,  and  began 
to  walk  on  with  her,  unconsciously.  "  I  feel  like  a 
returned  ghost  wandering  about — invisible  and  un 
recognized.  So  few  people  seem  to  remember  me!" 

"I  think  you  are  wrong.  I  think  you'll  find 
everybody  remembers  you,"  she  responded,  un 
easily. 

"No,  I'm  afraid  not,"  he  began.     "I—" 
117 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

"I'm  afraid  they  do!" 

Joe  laughed  a  little.  "My  father  was  saying 
something  like  that  to  me  a  while  ago.  He  meant 
that  they  used  to  think  me  a  great  scapegrace  here. 
Do  you  mean  that?" 

"  I'd  scarcely  like  to  say,"  she  answered,  her  face 
growing  more  troubled ;  for  they  were  close  on  the 
imperial  domain. 

"  But  it's  long  ago — and  I  really  didn't  do  any 
thing  so  outrageous,  it  seems  to  me."  He  laughed 
again.  "  I  know  your  father  was  angry  with  me 
once  or  twice,  especially  the  night  I  hid  on  your 
porch  to  watch  you — to  watch  you  dance,  I  mean. 
But,  you  see,  I've  come  back  to  rehabilitate  my 
self,  to—" 

.She  interrupted  him.  They  were  not  far  from 
her  gate,  and  she  saw  her  father  standing  in  the 
yard,  directing  a  painter  who  was  at  work  on  one 
of  the  cast-iron  deer.  The  Judge  was  apparently 
in  good  spirits,  laughing  with  the  workman  over 
some  jest  between  them,  but  that  did  not  lessen 
Mamie's  nervousness. 

"Mr.  Louden,"  she  said,  in  as  kindly  a  tone  as 
she  could,  "  I  shall  have  to  ask  you  not  to  walk 
with  me.  My  father  would  not  like  it." 

Joe  stopped  with  a  jerk. 

"Why,  I — I  thought  I'd  go  in  and  shake  hands 
with  him, — and  tell  him  I — " 

118 


A  BAD   PENNY   TURNS   UP 

Astonishment  that  partook  of  terror  and  of  awe 
spread  itself  instantly  upon  her  face. 
"Good  gracious!"  she  cried.  "No!" 
"  Very  well,"  said  Joe,  humbly.  "  Good-bye." 
He  was  too  late  to  get  away  with  any  good  grace. 
Judge  Pike  had  seen  them,  and,  even  as  Joe  turned 
to  go,  rushed  down  to  the  gate,  flung  it  open,  and 
motioned  his  daughter  to  enter.  This  he  did  with 
one  wide  sweep  of  his  arm,  and,  with  another 
sweep,  forbade  Joe  to  look  upon  either  moon  or 
sun.  It  was  a  magnificent  gesture :  it  excluded  the 
young  man  from  the  street,  Judge  Pike's  street, 
and  from  the  town,  Judge  Pike's  town.  It  swept 
him  from  the  earth,  abolished  him,  denied  him 
the  right  to  breathe  the  common  air,  to  be  seen  of 
men;  and,  at  once  a  headsman's  stroke  and  an 
excommunication,  destroyed  him,  soul  and  body, 
thus  rebuking  the  silly  Providence  that  had  created 
him,  and  repairing  Its  mistake  by  annihilating 
him.  This  hurling  Olympian  gesture  smote  the 
street;  the  rails  of  the  car-track  sprang  and  quiv 
ered  with  the  shock;  it  thundered,  and,  amid  the 
dumfounding  uproar  of  the  wrath  of  a  god,  the 
Will  of  the  Canaanite  Jove  wrote  the  words  in 
fiery  letters  upon  the  ether: 
"CEASE  TO  BE!" 

Joe  did  not  go  in  to  shake  hands  with  Judge 
Pike. 

9  119 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

He  turned  the  next  corner  a  moment  later,  and 
went  down  the  quiet  street  which  led  to  the  house 
which  had  been  his  home.  He  did  not  glance  at 
that  somewhat  grim  edifice,  but  passed  it,  his  eyes 
averted,  and  stopped  in  front  of  the  long,  ram 
shackle  cottage  next  door.  The  windows  were 
boarded;  the  picket-fence  dropped  even  to  the 
ground  in  some  sections;  the  chimneys  sagged 
and  curved;  the  roof  of  the  long  porch  sprinkled 
shingles  over  the  unkempt  yard  with  every  wind, 
and  seemed  about  to  fall.  The  place  was  desolate 
with  long  emptiness  and  decay:  it  looked  like  a 
Haunted  House ;  and  nailed  to  the  padlocked  gate 
was  a  sign,  half  obliterated  with  the  winters  it 
had  fronted,  "For  Sale  or  Rent." 

Joe  gat  him  meditatively  back  to  Main  Street 
and  to  the  Tocsin  building.  This  time  he  did  not 
hesitate,  but  mounted  the  stairs  and  knocked  upon 
the  door  of  the  assistant  editor. 

"Oh,"  said  Eugene.  "You've  turned  up,  have 
you?" 

Mr.  Bantry  of  the  Tocsin  was  not  at  all  the  Eu 
gene  rescued  from  the  "Straw-Cellar."  The  pres 
ent  gentleman  was  more  the  electric  Freshman  than 
the  frightened  adventurer  whom  Joe  had  encoun 
tered  in  New  York.  It  was  to  be  seen  immediately 
that  the  assistant  editor  had  nothing  undaintily 
business-like  about  him,  nor  was  there  the  litter 

120 


A  BAD  PENNY  TURNS  UP 

on  his  desk  which  one  might  have  expected.  He 
had  the  air  of  a  gentleman  dilettante  who  amused 
himself  slightly  by  spending  an  hour  or  two  in  the 
room  now  and  then.  It  was  the  evolution  to  the 
perfect  of  his  Freshman  manner,  and  his  lively  ap 
parel,  though  somewhat  chastened  by  an  older 
taste,  might  have  been  foretold  from  that  which 
had  smitten  Canaan  seven  years  before.  He  sat 
not  at  the  orderly  and  handsome  desk,  but  lay 
stretched  upon  a  divan  of  green  leather,  smoking  a 
cigar  of  purest  ray  and  reading  sleepily  a  small 
verse-looking  book  in  morocco.  His  occupation, 
his  general  air,  the  furniture  of  the  room,  and  his 
title  (doubtless  equipped  with  a  corresponding 
salary)  might  have  inspired  in  an  observant  cynic 
the  idea  that  here  lay  a  pet  of  Fortune,  whose 
position  had  been  the  fruit  of  nepotism,  or, 
mayhap,  a  successful  wooing  of  some  daughter, 
wife,  or  widow.  Eugene  looked  competent  for 
that. 

"I've  come  back  to  stay,  'Gene,"  said  Joe. 

Bantry  had  dropped  his  book  and  raised  himself 
on  an  elbow.  "Exceedingly  interesting,"  he  said. 
"I  suppose  you'll  try  to  find  something  to  do.  I 
don't  think  you  could  get  a  place  here ;  Judge  Pike 
owns  the  Tocsin,  and  I  greatly  fear  he  has  a  preju 
dice  against  you." 

"I   expect   he   has,"   Joe   chuckled,    somewhat 

121 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

sadly.  "  But  I  don't  want  newspaper  work.  I'm 
going  to  practice  law." 

"By  Jove !  you  have  courage,  my  festive  prodigal. 
V  raiment!" 

Joe  cocked  his  head  to  one  side  with  his  old  look 
of  the  friendly  puppy.  "You  always  did  like  to 
talk  that  noveletty  way,  'Gene,  didn't  you?"  he 
said,  impersonally. 

Eugene's  color  rose.  "Have  you  saved  up  any 
thing  to  starve  on?"  he  asked,  crisply. 

"Oh,  I'm  not  so  badly  off.  I've  had  a  salary  in 
an  office  for  a  year,  and  I  had  one  pretty  good  day 
at  the  races— 

"You'd  better  go  back  and  have  another,"  said 
his  step-brother.  "  You  don't  seem  to  comprehend 
your  standing  in  Canaan." 

"I'm  beginning  to."  Joe  turned  to  the  door. 
"  It's  funny,  too — in  a  way.  Well — I  won't  keep 
you  any  longer.  I  just  stopped  in  to  say  good- 
day — "  He  paused,  faltering. 

"All  right,  all  right,"  Eugene  said,  briskly. 
"And,  by-the-way,  I  haven't  mentioned  that  I  saw 
you  in  New  York." 

"Oh,  I  didn't  suppose  that  you  would." 

"And  you  needn't  say  anything  about  it,  I 
fancy." 

"I  don't  think,"  said  Joe,— "  I  don't  think  that 
you  need  be  afraid  I'll  do  that.  Good-bye." 

122 


A  BAD   PENNY  TURNS  UP 

"Be  sure  to  shut  the  door,  please;  it's  rather 
noisy  with  it  open.  Good-bye."  Eugene  waved 
his  hand  and  sank  back  upon  the  divan. 

Joe  went  across  the  street  to  the  "  National 
House."  The  sages  fell  as  silent  as  if  he  had  been 
Martin  Pike.  They  had  just  had  the  pleasure  of 
hearing  a  telephone  monologue  by  Mr.  Brown,  the 
clerk,  to  which  they  listened  intently:  "Yes.  This 
is  Brown.  Oh — oh,  it's  Judge  Pike?  Yes  indeed, 
Judge,  yes  indeed,  I  hear  you — ha,  ha!  Of  course, 
I  understand.  Yes,  Judge,  I  heard  he  was  in 
town.  No,  he  hasn't  been  here.  Not  yet,  that 
is,  Judge.  Yes,  I  hear.  No,  I  won't,  of  course. 
Certainly  not.  I  will,  I  will.  I  hear  perfectly,  I 
understand.  Yes,  sir.  Good-bye,  Judge." 

Joe  had  begun  to  write  his  name  in  the  register. 
"My  trunk  is  still  at  the  station,"  he  said.  "I'll 
give  you  my  check  to  send  down  for  it." 

"Excuse  me,"  said  the  clerk.  "We  have  no 
rooms." 

"What!"  cried  Joe,  innocently.  "Why,  I  never 
knew  more  than  eight  people  to  stay  here  at  the 
same  time  in  my  life." 

"  We  have  no  rooms,"  repeated  the  clerk,  curtly. 

"Is  there  a  convention  here?" 

"We  have  no  rooms,  I  say!" 

Joe  looked  up  into  the  condensed  eyes  of  Mr. 
Brown.  "Oh,"  he  said,  "I  see." 

123 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

Deathly  silence  followed  him  to  the  door,  but, 
as  it  closed  behind  him,  he  heard  the  outbreak  of 
the  sages  like  a  tidal  wave  striking  a  dump-heap 
of  tin  cans. 

Two  hours  later  he  descended  from  an  evil  ark 
of  a  cab  at  the  corral  attached  to  Beaver  Beach, 
and  followed  the  path  through  the  marsh  to  the 
crumbling  pier.  A  red-bearded  man  was  seated 
on  a  plank  by  the  water  edge,  fishing. 

"Mike,"  said  Joe,  "have  you  got  room  for  me? 
Can  you  take  me  in  for  a  few  days  until  I  find  a 
place  in  town  where  they'll  let  me  stay?" 

The  red-bearded  man  rose  slowly,  pushed  back 
his  hat,  and  stared  hard  at  the  wanderer;  then  he 
uttered  a  howl  of  joy  and  seized  the  other's  hands 
in  his  and  shook  them  wildly. 

"Glory  be  on  high!"  he  shouted.  "It's  Joe 
Louden  come  back!  We  never  knew  how  we 
missed  ye  till  ye'd  gone!  Place  fer  ye!  Can  I 
find  it?  There  ain't  a  imp  o'  perdition  in  town, 
includin'  myself,  that  wouldn't  kill  me  if  I  couldn't! 
Ye'll  have  old  Maggie's  room,  my  own  aunt's;  ye 
remember  how  she  used  to  dance!  Ha,  ha!  She's 
been  burnin'  below  these  four  years!  And  we'll 
have  the  celebration  of  yer  return  this  night. 
There'll  be  many  of  'em  will  come  when  they  hear 
ye're  back  in  Canaan!  Praise  God,  we'll  all  hope 
ye're  goin'  to  stay  a  while!" 

124 


IX 

"OUTER  DARKNESS" 

[F  any  echo  of  doubt  concerning  his 
undesirable  conspicuousness  sounded 
faintly  in  Joe's  mind,  it  was  silenced 
eftsoons.  Canaan  had  not  forgotten 
him — far  from  it! — so  far  that  it  be 
gan  pointing  him  out  to  strangers  on  the  street 
the  very  day  of  his  return.  His  course  of  action, 
likewise  that  of  his  friends,  permitted  him  little 
obscurity,  and  when  the  rumors  of  his  finally  ob 
taining  lodging  at  Beaver  Beach,  and  of  the  cele 
bration  of  his  installation  there,  were  presently 
confirmed,  he  stood  in  the  lime-light  indeed,  as  a 
Mephistopheles  upsprung  through  the  trap-door. 

The  welcoming  festivities  had  not  been  so  dis 
creetly  conducted  as  to  accord  with  the  general 
policy  of  Beaver  Beach.  An  unfortunate  incident 
caused  the  arrest  of  one  of  the  celebrators  and  the 
ambulancing  to  the  hospital  of  another  on  the 
homeward  way,  the  ensuing  proceedings  in  court 
bringing  to  the  whole  affair  a  publicity  devoutly 

125 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

unsought  for.  Mr.  Happy  Fear  (such  was  the 
habitual  name  of  the  imprisoned  gentleman)  had 
to  bear  a  great  amount  of  harsh  criticism  for  in 
juring  a  companion  within  the  city  limits  after 
daylight,  and  for  failing  to  observe  that  three 
policemen  were  not  too  distant  from  the  scene  of 
operations  to  engage  therein. 

"Happy,  if  ye  had  it  in  mind  to  harm  him," 
said  the  red-bearded  man  to  Mr.  Fear,  upon  the 
latter's  return  to  society,  "why  didn't  ye  do  it 
out  here  at  the  Beach?" 

"Because,"  returned  the  indiscreet,  "he  didn't 
say  what  he  was  goin'  to  say  till  we  got  in  town." 

Extraordinary  probing  on  the  part  of  the  prose 
cutor  had  developed  at  the  trial  that  the  obnoxious 
speech  had  referred  to  the  guest  of  the  evening. 
The  assaulted  party,  one  "  Nashville  "  Cory,  was 
not  of  Canaan,  but  a  bit  of  drift-wood  haply  touch 
ing  shore  for  the  moment  at  Beaver  Beach ;  and — 
strange  is  this  world — he  had  been  introduced  to 
the  coterie  of  Mike's  Place  by  Happy  Fear  himself, 
who  had  enjoyed  a  brief  acquaintance  with  him  on 
a  day  when  both  had  chanced  to  travel  incognito 
by  the  same  freight.  Naturally,  Happy  had  felt 
responsible  for  the  proper  behavior  of  his  proteg6 
— was,  in  fact,  bound  to  enforce  it;  additionally, 
Happy  had  once  been  saved  from  a  term  of  im 
prisonment  (at  a  time  when  it  would  have  been 

126 


"OUTER   DARKNESS" 

more  than  ordinarily  inconvenient)  by  help  and 
advice  from  Joe,  and  he  was  not  one  to  forget. 
Therefore  he  was  grieved  to  observe  that  his 
own  guest  seemed  to  be  somewhat  jealous  of  the 
hero  of  the  occasion  and  disposed  to  look  cold 
ly  upon  him.  The  stranger,  however,  contented 
himself  with  innuendo  (mere  expressions  of  the 
face  and  other  manner  of  things  for  which  one 
could  not  squarely  lay  hands  upon  him)  until 
such  time  as  he  and  his  sponsor  had  come  to  Main 
Street  in  the  clear  dawn  on  their  way  to  Happy's 
apartment  —  a  variable  abode.  It  may  be  that 
the  stranger  perceived  what  Happy  did  not;  the 
three  bluecoats  in  the  perspective;  at  all  events, 
he  now  put  into  words  of  simple  strength  the  un 
favorable  conception  he  had  formed  of  Joe.  The 
result  was  mediaevally  immediate,  and  the  period 
of  Mr.  Cory's  convalescence  in  the  hospital  was 
almost  half  that  of  his  sponsor's  detention  in  the 
county  jail. 

It  needed  nothing  to  finish  Joe  with  the  good 
people  of  Canaan;  had  it  needed  anything,  the 
trial  of  Happy  Fear  would  have  overspilled  the 
necessity.  An  item  of  the  testimony  was  that 
Joseph  Louden  had  helped  to  carry  one  of  the 
ladies  present — a  Miss  Le  Roy,  who  had  fainted— 
to  the  open  air,  and  had  jostled  the  stranger  in 
passing.  After  this,  the  oldest  woman  in  Canaan 

127 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

would  not  have  dared  to  speak  to  Joe  on  the  street 
(even  if  she  wanted  to),  unless  she  happened  to 
be  very  poor  or  very  wicked.  The  Tocsin  printed 
an  adequate  account  (for  there  was  "a  large  pub 
lic  interest"),  recording  in  conclusion  that  Mr. 
Louden  paid  the  culprit's  fine — which  was  the 
largest  in  the  power  of  the  presiding  judge  in  his 
mercy  to  bestow.  Editorially,  the  Tocsin  leaned  to 
the  facetious :  "  Mr.  Louden  has  but  recently  '  re 
turned  to  our  midst.'  We  fervently  hope  that 
the  distinguished  Happy  Fear  will  appreciate  his 
patron's  superb  generosity.  We  say  'his  patron,' 
but  perhaps  we  err  in  this.  Were  it  not  better  to 
figure  Mr.  Louden  as  the  lady  in  distress,  Mr.  Fear 
as  the  champion  in  the  lists  ?  In  the  present  case, 
however,  contrary  to  the  rules  of  romance,  the 
champion  falls  in  duress  and  passes  to  the  dungeon. 
We  merely  suggest,  en  passant,  that  some  of  our 
best  citizens  might  deem  it  a  wonderful  and  beau 
teous  thing  if,  in  addition  to  paying  the  fine,  Mr. 
Louden  could  serve  for  the  loyal  Happy  his  six 
months  in  the  Bastile!" 

" En  passant,"  if  nothing  else,  would  have  re 
vealed  to  Joe,  in  this  imitation  of  a  better  trick,  the 
hand  of  Eugene.  And,  little  doubt,  he  would  have 
agreed  with  Squire  Buckalew  in  the  Squire's  answer 
to  the  easily  expected  comment  of  Mr.  Arp. 

"Sometimes,"  said  Eskew,  "I  think  that  'Gene 
128 


"OUTER   DARKNESS" 

Bantry  is  jest  a  leetle  bit  spiderier  than  he  is  lazy. 
That's  the  first  thing  he's  written  in  the  Tocsin  this 
month — one  of  the  boys  over  there  told  me.  He 
wrote  it  out  of  spite  against  Joe;  but  he'd  ought 
to  of  done  better.  If  his  spite  hadn't  run  away 
with  what  mind  he's  got,  he'd  of  said  that  both 
Joe  Louden  and  that  tramp  Fear  ought  to  of  had 
ten  years!" 

"  'Gene  Bantry  didn't  write  that  out  of  spite," 
answered  Buckalew.  "  He  only  thought  he  saw 
a  chance  to  be  kind  of  funny  and  please  Judge  Pike. 
The  Judge  has  always  thought  Joe  was  a  no-ac 
count — 

"Ain't  he  right?"  cried  Mr.  Arp. 

"7  don't  say  he  ain't."  Squire  Buckalew  cast  a 
glance  at  Mr.  Brown,  the  clerk,  and,  perceiving  that 
he  was  listening,  added,  "The  Judge  always  is 
right!" 

"Yes,  sir!"  said  Colonel  Flitcroft. 

"  I  can't  stand  up  for  Joe  Louden  to  any  extent, 
but  I  don't  think  he  done  wrong,"  Buckalew  went 
on,  recovering,  "when  he  paid  this  man  Fear's 
fine." 

"You  don't!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Arp.  "Why, 
haven't  you  got  gumption  enough  to  see — 

"Look  here,  Eskew,"  interposed  his  antagonist. 
"  How  many  friends  have  you  got  that  hate  t®  hear 
folks  talk  bad  about  you?" 

129 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"Not  a  one!"  For  once  Eskew's  guard  was 
down,  and  his  consistency  led  him  to  destruction. 
"Not  a  one!  It  ain't  in  human  nature.  They're 
bound  to  enjoy  it!" 

"Got  any  friends  that  would  fight  for  you?" 

Eskew  walked  straight  into  this  hideous  trap. 
"No!  There  ain't  a  dozen  men  ever  lived  that 
had!  Caesar  was  a  popular  man,  but  he  didn't 
have  a  soul  to  help  him  when  the  crowd  lit  on  him, 
and  I'll  bet  old  Mark  Antony  was  mighty  glad 
they  got  him  out  in  the  yard  before  it  happened,— 
he  wouldn't  have  lifted  a  finger  without  a  gang 
behind  him!  Why,  all  Peter  himself  could  do  was 
to  cut  off  an  ear  that  wasn't  no  use  to  anybody. 
What  are  you  tryin'  to  get  at  ?" 

The  Squire  had  him ;  and  paused,  and  stroked  his 
chin,  to  make  the  ruin  complete.  "  Then  I  reckon 
you'll  have  to  admit,"  he  murmured,  "that,  while 
I  ain't  defendin'  Joe  Louden's  character,  it  was 
kind  of  proper  for  him  to  stand  by  a  feller  that 
wouldn't  hear  nothin'  against  him,  and  fought  for 
him  as  soon  as  he  did  hear  it!" 

Eskew  Arp  rose  from  his  chair  and  left  the  hotel. 
It  was  the  only  morning  in  all  the  days  of  the  con 
clave  when  he  was  the  first  to  leave. 

Squire  Buckalew  looked  after  the  retreating 
figure,  total  triumph  shining  brazenly  from  his 
spectacles.  "I  expect,"  he  explained,  modestly, 

130 


"OUTER   DARKNESS" 

to  the  others, — "I  expect  I  don't  think  any  more 
of  Joe  Louden  than  he  does,  and  I'll  be  glad  when 
Canaan  sees  the  last  of  him  for  good;  but  some 
times  the  temptation  to  argue  with  Eskew  does 
lead  me  on  to  kind  of  git  the  better  of  him." 

When  Happy  Fear  had  suffered — with  a  give- 
and-take  simplicity  of  patience — his  allotment  of 
months  in  durance,  and  was  released  and  sent  into 
the  streets  and  sunshine  once  more,  he  knew  that 
his  first  duty  lay  in  the  direction  of  a  general  apol 
ogy  to  Joe.  But  the  young  man  was  no  longer  at 
Beaver  Beach ;  the  red  -  bearded  proprietor  dwelt 
alone  there,  and,  receiving  Happy  with  scorn  and 
pity,  directed  him  to  retrace  his  footsteps  to  the 
town. 

"Ye  must  have  been  in  the  black  hole  of  in 
carceration  indeed,  if  ye  haven't  heard  that  Mr. 
Louden  has  his  law-office  on  the  Square,  and  his 
livin'-room  behind  the  office.  It's  in  that  little 
brick  buildin'  straight  acrost  from  the  sheriff's 
door  o'  the  jail — ye've  been  neighbors  this  long 
time!  A  hard  time  the  boy  had,  persuadin'  any 
one  to  rent  to  him,  but  by  payin'  double  the  price 
he  got  a  place  at  last.  He's  a  practisin'  lawyer 
now,  praise  the  Lord!  And  all  the  boys  and  girls 
of  our  acquaintance  go  to  him  with  their  troubles. 
Ye'll  see  him  with  a  murder  case  to  try  before 
long,  as  sure  as  ye're  not  worth  yer  salt!  But  I 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

expect  ye  can  still  call  him  by  his  name  of  Joe,  all 
the  same!" 

It  was  a  bleak  and  meagre  little  office  into 
which  Mr.  Fear  ushered  himself  to  offer  his  amends. 
The  cracked  plaster  of  the  walls  was  bare  (save 
for  dust) ;  there  were  no  shelves ;  the  fat  brown 
volumes,  most  of  them  fairly  new,  were  piled  in 
regular  columns  upon  a  cheap  pine  table;  there 
was  but  one  window,  small-paned  and  shadeless;  an 
inner  door  of  this  sad  chamber  stood  half  ajar,  per 
mitting  the  visitor  unreserved  acquaintance  with 
the  domestic  economy  of  the  tenant ;  for  it  disclosed 
a  second  room,  smaller  than  the  office,  and  de 
pendent  upon  the  window  of  the  latter  for  air  and 
light.  Behind  a  canvas  camp-cot,  dimly  visible 
in  the  obscurity  of  the  inner  apartment,  stood  a 
small  gas-stove,  surmounted  by  a  stew-pan,  from 
which  projected  the  handle  of  a  big  tin  spoon,  so 
that  it  needed  no  ghost  from  the  dead  to  whisper 
that  Joseph  Louden,  attorney-at-law,  did  his  own 
cooking.  Indeed,  he  looked  it! 

Upon  the  threshold  of  the  second  room  reposed  a 
small,  worn,  light-brown  scrub-brush  of  a  dog,  so 
cosmopolitan  in  ancestry  that  his  species  was  al 
most  as  undeterminable  as  the  cast-iron  dogs  of 
the  Pike  Mansion.  He  greeted  Mr.  Fear  hospi 
tably,  having  been  so  lately  an  offcast  of  the  streets 
himself  that  his  adoption  had  taught  him  to  lose 

132 


"OUTER   DARKNESSS" 

only  his  old  tremors,  not  his  hopefulness.  At 
the  same  time  Joe  rose  quickly  from  the  deal 
table,  where  he  had  been  working  with  one  hand 
in  his  hair,  the  other  splattering  ink  from  a  bad 
pen. 

"Good  for  you,  Happy!"  he  cried,  cheerfully. 
"  I  hoped  you'd  come  to  see  me  to-day.  I've  been 
thinking  about  a  job  for  you." 

"  What  kind  of  a  job  ?"  asked  the  visitor,  as  they 
shook  hands.  "  I  need  one  bad  enough,  but  you 
know  there  ain't  nobody  in  Canaan  would  gimme 
one,  Joe." 

Joe  pushed  him  into  one  of  the  two  chairs  which 
completed  the  furniture  of  his  office.  "  Yes,  there 
is.  I've  got  an  idea — " 

"First,"  broke  in  Mr.  Fear,  fingering  his  shape 
less  hat  and  fixing  his  eyes  upon  it  with  embarrass 
ment, — "  first  lemme  say  what  I  come  here  to  say. 
I — well—  His  embarrassment  increased  and  he 
paused,  rubbing  the  hat  between  his  hands. 

"About  this  job,"  Joe  began.  "We  can  fix  it 
so—" 

"No,"  said  Happy.  "You  lemme  go  on.  I 
didn't  mean  fer  to  cause  you  no  trouble  when  I  lit 
on  that  loud-mouth,  '  Nashville  ' ;  I  never  thought 
they'd  git  me,  or  you'd  be  dragged  in.  But  I  jest 
couldn't  stand  him  no  longer.  He  had  me  all  wore 
out — all  evening  long  a-hintin'  and  sniffin'  and 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

wearin'  that  kind  of  a  high-smile  'cause  they  made 
so  much  fuss  over  you.  And  then  when  we  got 
clear  in  town  he  come  out  with  it!  Said  you  was 
too  quiet  to  suit  him — said  he  couldn't  see  nothin' 
to  you!  'Well,'  I  says  to  myself,  'jest  let  him  go 
on,  jest  one  more,'  I  says,  'then  he  gits  it.'  And 
he  did.  Said  you  tromped  on  his  foot  on  purpose, 
said  he  knowed  it, — when  the  Lord-a 'mightiest  fool 
on  earth  knows  you  never  tromped  on  no  one! 
Said  you  was  one  of  the  po'rest  young  sports  he 
ever  see  around  a  place  like  the  Beach.  You  see, 
he  thought  you  was  jest  one  of  them  fool  '  Bloods ' 
that  come  around  raisin'  a  rumpus,  and  didn't  know 
you  was  our  friend  and  belonged  out  there,  the  same 
as  me  or  Mike  hisself.  'Go  on,'  I  says  to  myself, 
'jest  one  more!'  'He  better  go  home  to  his  mam 
ma,'  he  says ; '  he'll  git  in  trouble  if  he  don't.  Some 
body  '11  soak  him  if  he  hangs  around  in  my  com 
pany.  /  don't  like  his  ways.'  Then  I  had  to  do 
it.  There  jest  wasn't  nothin'  left — but  I  wouldn't 
of  done  you  no  harm  by  it— 

"You  didn't  do  me  any  harm,  Happy." 

"I  mean  your  repitation." 

"  I  didn't  have  one — so  nothing  in  the  world  could 
harm  it.  About  your  getting  some  work,  now — 

"I'll  listen,"  said  Happy,  rather  suspiciously. 

"You  see,"  Joe  went  on,  growing  red,  "I  need 
a  sort  of  janitor  here— 


"OUTER  DARKNESS" 

"What  fer?"  Mr.  Fear  interrupted,  with  some 
shortness. 

"To  look  after  the  place." 

"  You  mean  these  two  rooms?" 

"There's  a  stairway,  too,"  Joe  put  forth,  quickly. 
"  It  wouldn't  be  any  sinecure,  Happy.  You'd 
earn  your  money,  don't  be  afraid  of  that!" 

Mr.  Fear  straightened  up,  his  burden  of  em 
barrassment  gone  from  him,  transferred  to  the 
other's  shoulders. 

"There  always  was  a  yellow  streak  in  you,  Joe," 
he  said,  firmly.  "  You're  no  good  as  a  liar  except 
when  you're  jokin'.  A  lot  you  need  a  janitor! 
You  had  no  business  to  pay  my  fine;  you'd  ort  of 
let  me  worked  it  out.  Do  you  think  my  eyes  ain't 
good  enough  to  see  how  much  you  needed  the 
money,  most  of  all  right  now  when  you're  tryin'  to 
git  started  ?  If  I  ever  take  a  cent  from  you,  I  hope 
the  hand  I  hold  out  fer  it  '11  rot  off." 

"Now  don't  say  that,  Happy." 

"I  don't  want  a  job,  nohow!"  said  Mr.  Fear, 
going  to  the  door;  "  I  don't  want  to  work.  There's 
plenty  ways  fer  me  to  git  along  without  that.  But 
I've  said  what  I  come  here  to  say,  and  I'll  say  one 
thing  more.  Don't  you  worry  about  gittin'  law 
practice.  Mike  says  you're  goin'  to  git  all  you 
want — and  if  there  ain't  no  other  way,  why,  a  few 
of  us  '11  go  out  and  make  some  fer  ye!" 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

These  prophecies  and  promises,  over  which  Joe 
chuckled  at  first,  with  his  head  cocked  to  one 
side,  grew  very  soon,  to  his  amazement,  to  wear  a 
supernatural  similarity  to  actual  fulfilment.  His 
friends  brought  him  their  own  friends,  such  as 
had  sinned  against  the  laws  of  Canaan,  those  under 
the  ban  of  the  sheriff,  those  who  had  struck  in 
anger,  those  who  had  stolen  at  night,  those  who 
owed  and  could  not  pay,  those  who  lived  by  the 
dice,  and  to  his  other  titles  to  notoriety  was  added 
that  of  defender  of  the  poor  and  wicked.  He  found 
his  hands  full,  especially  after  winning  his  first  im 
portant  case — on  which  occasion  Canaan  thought 
the  jury  mad,  and  was  indignant  with  the  puzzled 
Judge,  who  could  not  see  just  how  it  had  happened. 

Joe  did  not  stop  at  that.  He  kept  on  winning 
cases,  clearing  the  innocent  and  lightening  the  bur 
dens  of  the  guilty;  he  became  the  most  dangerous 
attorney  for  the  defence  in  Canaan ;  his  honorable 
brethren,  accepting  the  popular  view  of  him,  held 
him  in  personal  contempt  but  feared  him  pro 
fessionally;  for  he  proved  that  he  knew  more  law 
than  they  thought  existed ;  nor  could  any  trick  him 
— failing  which,  many  tempers  were  lost,  but  never 
Joe's.  His  practice  was  not  all  criminal,  as  shown 
by  the  peevish  outburst  of  the  eminent  Buckalew 
(the  Squire's  nephew,  esteemed  the  foremost  law 
yer  in  Canaan),  "  Before  long,  there  won't  be  any 

136 


"OUTER  DARKNESS" 

use  trying  to  foreclose  a  mortgage  or  collect  a  note 
—unless  this  shyster  gets  himself  in  jail!" 

The  wrath  of  Judge  Martin  Pike  was  august — 
there  was  a  kind  of  sublimity  in  its  immenseness — 
on  a  day  when  it  befell  that  the  shyster  stood 
betwixt  him  and  money. 

That  was  a  monstrous  task — to  stand  between 
these  two  and  separate  them,  to  hold  back  the 
hand  of  Martin  Pike  from  what  it  had  reached  out 
to  grasp.  It  was  in  the  matter  of  some  tax -titles 
which  the  magnate  had  acquired,  and,  in  court, 
Joe  treated  the  case  with  such  horrifying  sim 
plicity  that  it  seemed  almost  credible  that  the 
great  man  had  counted  upon  the  ignorance  and 
besottedness  of  Joe's  client — a  hard-drinking,  dis 
reputable  old  farmer — to  get  his  land  away  from 
him  without  paying  for  it.  Now,  as  every  one 
knew  such  a  thing  to  be  ludicrously  impossible, 
it  was  at  once  noised  abroad  in  Canaan  that  Joe 
had  helped  to  swindle  Judge  Pike  out  of  a  large 
sum  of  money — it  was  notorious  that  the  shyster 
could  bamboozle  court  and  jury  with  his  tricks; 
and  it  was  felt  that  Joe  Louden  was  getting  into 
very  deep  waters  indeed.  This  was  serious:  if 
the  young  man  did  not  look  out,  he  might  find  him 
self  in  the  penitentiary. 

The  Tocsin  paragraphed  him  with  a  fine  regular 
ity  after  this,  usually  opening  with  a  Walrus-and- 

i37 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

the-Carpenter  gravity:  "The  time  has  come  when 
we  must  speak  of  a  certain  matter  frankly,"  or,  "  At 
last  the  time  has  arrived  when  the  demoralization 
of  the  bar  caused  by  a  certain  criminal  lawyer  must 
be  dealt  with  as  it  is  and  without  gloves."  Once 
when  Joe  had  saved  a  half-witted  negro  from  "the 
extreme  penalty"  for  murder,  the  Tocsin  had  de 
clared,  with  great  originality:  "This  is  just  the 
kind  of  thing  that  causes  mobs  and  justifies  them. 
If  we  are  to  continue  to  permit  the  worst  class 
of  malefactors  to  escape  the  consequences  of  their 
crimes  through  the  unwholesome  dexterities  and  the 
shifty  manipulations  and  technicalities  of  a  cer 
tain  criminal  lawyer,  the  time  will  come  when  an 
outraged  citizenry  may  take  the  enforcement  of 
the  law  in  its  own  hands.  Let  us  call  a  spade  a 
spade.  If  Canaan's  streets  ever  echo  with  the 
tread  of  a  mob,  the  fault  lies  upon  the  head  of 
Joseph  Louden,  who  has  once  more  brought  about 
a  miscarriage  of  justice.  ..." 

Joe  did  not  move  into  a  larger  office ;  he  remained 
in  the  little  room  with  its  one  window  and  its  fine 
view  of  the  jail ;  his  clients  were  nearly  all  poor,  and 
many  of  his  fees  quite  literally  nominal.  Tatters 
and  rags  came  up  the  narrow  stairway  to  his  door 
— tatters  and  rags  and  pitiful  fineries:  the  bleared, 
the  sodden,  the  flaunting  and  rouged,  the  furtive 
and  wary,  some  in  rags,  some  in  tags,  and  some — 

138 


"OUTER   DARKNESS" 

the  sorriest  —  in  velvet  gowns.  With  these,  the 
distressed,  the  wrong  -  doers,  the  drunken,  the 
dirty,  and  the  very  poor,  his  work  lay  and  his  days 
and  nights  were  spent. 

Ariel  had  told  Roger  Tabor  that  in  time  Joe 
might  come  to  be  what  the  town  thought  him,  if 
it  gave  him  no  other  chance.  Only  its  dinginess 
and  evil  surrounded  him ;  no  respectable  house  was 
open  to  him ;  the  barrooms — except  that  of  the 
"National  House"- — welcomed  him  gratefully  and 
admiringly.  Once  he  went  to  church,  on  a  pleas 
ant  morning  when  nice  girls  wear  pretty  spring 
dresses ;  it  gave  him  a  thrill  of  delight  to  see  them, 
to  be  near  clean,  good  people  once  more.  Inad 
vertently,  he  took  a  seat  by  his  step-mother,  who 
rose  with  a  slight  rustle  of  silk  and  moved  to  an 
other  pew ;  and  it  happened,  additionally,  that 
this  was  the  morning  that  the  minister,  fired  by 
the  Tocsin's  warnings,  had  chosen  to  preach  on 
the  subject  of  Joe  himself. 

The  outcast  returned  to  his  own  kind.  No  lady 
spoke  to  him  upon  the  street.  Mamie  Pike  had 
passed  him  with  averted  eyes  since  her  first  meet 
ing  with  him,  but  the  shunning  and  snubbing  of  a 
young  man  by  a  pretty  girl  have  never  yet,  if 
done  in  a  certain  way,  prevented  him  from  con 
tinuing  to  be  in  love  with  her.  Mamie  did  it  in 
the  certain  way.  Joe  did  not  wince,  therefore  it 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

hurt  all  the  more,  for  blows  from  which  one  cringes 
lose  much  of  their  force. 

The  town  dog  had  been  given  a  bad  name, 
painted  solid  black  from  head  to  heel.  He  was  a 
storm  centre  of  scandal;  the  entrance  to  his  dingy 
stairway  was  in  square  view  of  the  "  National 
House,"  and  the  result  is  imaginable.  How  many 
of  Joe's  clients,  especially  those  so~riest  of  the  velvet 
gowns,  were  conjectured  to  ascend  his  stairs  for  rea 
sons  more  convivial  than  legal !  Yes,  he  lived  with 
his  own  kind,  and,  so  far  as  the  rest  of  Canaan  was 
concerned,  might  as  well  have  worn  the  scarlet 
letter  on  his  breast  or  branded  on  his  forehead. 

When  he  went  about  the  streets  he  was  made  to 
feel  his  condition  by  the  elaborate  avoidance,  yet 
furtive  attention,  of  every  respectable  person  he 
met;  and  when  he  came  home  to  his  small  rooms 
and  shut  the  door  behind  him,  he  was  as  one  who 
has  been  hissed  and  shamed  in  public  and  runs 
to  bury  his  hot  face  in  his  pillow.  He  petted 
his  mongrel  extravagantly  (well  he  might!),  and 
would  sit  with  him  in  his  rooms  at  night,  holding 
long  converse  with  him,  the  two  alone  together. 
The  dog  was  not  his  only  confidant.  There  came 
to  be  another,  a  more  and  more  frequent  partner 
to  their  conversations,  at  last  a  familiar  spirit. 
This  third  came  from  a  brown  jug  which  Joe  kept 
on  a  shelf  in  his  bedroom,  a  vessel  too  frequently 

140 


"OUTER   DARKNESS" 

replenished.  When  the  day's  work  was  done  he 
shut  himself  up,  drank  alone  and  drank  hard. 
Sometimes  when  the  jug  ran  low  and  the  night  was 
late  he  would  go  out  for  a  walk  with  his  dog,  and 
would  awake  in  his  room  the  next  morning  not 
remembering  where  he  had  gone  or  how  he  had 
come  home.  Once,  after  such  a  lapse  of  memory, 
he  woke  amazed  to  find  himself  at  Beaver  Beach, 
whither,  he  learned  from  the  red  -  bearded  man, 
Happy  Fear  had  brought  him,  having  found  him 
wandering  dazedly  in  a  field  near  by.  These  lapses 
grew  more  frequent,  until  there  occurred  that  which 
was  one  of  the  strange  things  of  his  life. 

It  was  a  June  night,  a  little  more  than  two  years 
after  his  return  to  Canaan,  and  the  Tocsin  had  that 
day  announced  the  approaching  marriage  of  Eugene 
Bantry  and  his  employer's  daughter.  Joe  ate 
nothing  during  the  day,  and  went  through  his  work 
clumsily,  visiting  the  bedroom  shelf  at  intervals. 
At  ten  in  the  evening  he  went  out  to  have  the  jug 
refilled,  but  from  the  moment  he  left  his  door  and 
the  fresh  air  struck  his  face,  he  had  no  clear  knowl 
edge  of  what  he  did  or  of  what  went  on  about  him 
until  he  woke  in  his  bed  the  next  morning. 

And  yet,  whatever  little  part  of  the  soul  of  him 
remained,  that  night,  still  undulled,  not  numbed, 
but  alive,  was  in  some  strange  manner  lifted  out  of 
its  pain  towards  a  strange  delight.  His  body  was 

141 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

an  automaton,  his  mind  in  bondage,  yet  there  was 
a  still,  small  consciousness  in  him  which  knew  that 
in  his  wandering  something  incredible  and  unex 
pected  was  happening.  What  this  was  he  did  not 
know,  could  not  see,  though  his  eyes  were  open, 
could  not  have  told  himself  any  more  than  a  baby 
could  tell  why  it  laughs,  but  it  seemed  something 
so  beautiful  and  wonderful  that  the  night  became 
a  night  of  perfume,  its  breezes  bearing  the  music 
of  harps  and  violins,  while  nightingales  sang  from 
the  maples  that  bordered  the  streets  of  Canaan. 


X 

THE    TRYST 

E  woke  to  the  light  of  morning  amazed 
and  full  of  a  strange  wonder  because 
he  did  not  know  what  had  amazed 
him.  For  a  little  while  after  his  eyes 
i  opened,  he  lay  quite  motionless ;  then 
he  lifted  his  head  slightly  and  shook  it  with  some 
caution.  This  had  come  to  be  custom.  The  op 
eration  assured  him  of  the  worst ;  the  room  swam 
round  him,  and,  with  a  faint  groan,  he  let  his  head 
fall  back  upon  the  pillow.  But  he  could  not  sleep 
again;  pain  stung  its  way  through  his  heart  as 
memory  began  to  come  back  to  him,  not  of  the 
preceding  night — that  was  all  blank, — but  realiza 
tion  that  the  girl  of  whom  he  had  dreamed  so  long 
was  to  be  married.  That  his  dreams  had  been  quite 
hopeless  was  no  balm  to  his  hurt. 

A  chime  of  bells  sounded  from  a  church  steeple 
across  the  Square,  ringing  out  in  assured  righteous 
ness,  summoning  the  good  people  who  maintained 
them  to  come  and  sit  beneath  them  or  be  taken  to 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

task;  and  they  fell  so  dismally  upon  Joe's  ear  that 
he  bestirred  himself  and  rose,  to  the  delight  of  his 
mongrel,  who  leaped  upon  him  joyfully.  An  hour 
later,  or  thereabout,  the  pair  emerged  from  the  nar 
row  stairway  and  stood  tor  a  moment,  blinking  in 
the  fair  sunshine,  apparently  undecided  which  way 
to  go.  The  church  bells  were  silent ;  there  was  no 
breeze;  the  air  trembled  a  little  with  the  deep 
pipings  of  the  organ  across  the  Square,  and,  save  for 
that,  the  town  was  very  quiet.  The  paths  which 
crossed  the  Court  -  house  yard  were  flecked  with 
steady  shadow,  the  strong  young  foliage  of  the 
maples  not  moving,  having  the  air  of  observing  the 
Sabbath  with  propriety.  There  were  benches  here 
and  there  along  the  walks,  and  to  one  of  these  Joe 
crossed,  and  sat  down.  The  mongrel,  at  his  master's 
feet,  rolled  on  his  back  in  morning  ecstasy,  ceased 
abruptly  to  roll  and  began  to  scratch  his  ear  with 
a  hind  foot  intently.  A  tiny  hand  stretched  to  pat 
his  head,  and  the  dog  licked  it  appreciatively.  It 
belonged  to  a  hard-washed  young  lady  of  six  (in 
starchy,  white  frills  and  new,  pink  ribbons),  who 
had  run  ahead  of  her  mother,  a  belated  church-goer ; 
and  the  mongrel  charmed  her. 

"Will  you  give  me  this  dog?"  she  asked,  without 
any  tedious  formalities. 

Involuntarily,  she  departed  before  receiving  a 
reply.  The  mother,  a  red-faced  matron  whom  Joe 

144 


THE  TRYST 

recognized  as  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Louden's,  consequent 
ly  his  step-aunt,  swooped  at  the  child  with  a  rush 
and  rustle  of  silk,  and  bore  her  on  violently  to  her 
duty.  When  they  had  gone  a  little  way  the 
matron's  voice  was  heard  in  sharp  reproof ;  the  child, 
held  by  one  wrist  and  hurried  along  on  tiptoe, 
staring  back  over  one  shoulder  at  Joe,  her  eyes 
wide,  and  her  mouth  the  shape  of  the  "  O  "  she  was 
ejaculating. 

The  dog  looked  up  with  wistful  inquiry  at  his 
master,  who  cocked  an  eyebrow  at  him  in  return, 
wearing  much  the  same  expression.  The  mother 
and  child  disappeared  within  the  church  doors  and 
left  the  Square  to  the  two.  Even  the  hotel  showed 
no  signs  of  life,  for  the  wise  men  were  not  allowed  to 
foregather  on  Sundays.  The  organ  had  ceased  to 
stir  the  air  and  all  was  in  quiet,  yet  a  quiet  which, 
for  Louden,  was  not  peace.  He  looked  at  his  watch 
and,  without  intending  it,  spoke  the  hour  aloud: 
"A  quarter  past  eleven."  The  sound  of  his  own 
voice  gave  him  a  little  shock ;  he  rose  without  know 
ing  why,  and,  as  he  did  so,  it  seemed  to  him  that  he 
heard  close  to  his  ear  another  voice,  a  woman's, 
troubled  and  insistent,  but  clear  and  sweet,  saying: 
"  Remember  I  A  cross  Main  Street  bridge  at  noon  /" 
It  was  so  distinct  that  he  started  and  looked 
round.  Then  he  laughed.  "I'll  be  seeing  circus 
parades  next!"  His  laughter  fled,  for,  louder  than 

MS 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

the  ringing  in  his  ears,  unmistakably  came  the 
strains  of  a  far-away  brass  band  which  had  no 
existence  on  land  or  sea  or  in  the  waters  under  the 
earth. 

"Here!"  he  said  to  the  mongrel.  "We  need  a 
walk,  I  think.  Let's  you  and  me  move  on  before 
the  camels  turn  the  corner!" 

The  music  followed  him  to  the  street,  where  he 
turned  westward  toward  the  river,  and  presently, 
as  he  walked  on,  fanning  himself  with  his  straw  hat, 
it  faded  and  was  gone.  But  the  voice  he  had  heard 
returned. 

' '  Remember  !  A  cross  Main  Street  bridge  at  noon  ! ' ' 
it  said  again,  close  to  his  ear. 

This  time  he  did  not  start.  "All  right,"  he  an 
swered,  wiping  his  forehead ;  "  if  you'll  let  me  alone, 
I'll  be  there." 

At  a  dingy  saloon  corner,  near  the  river,  a  shabby 
little  man  greeted  him  heartily  and  petted  the 
mongrel.  "  I'm  mighty  glad  you  didn't  go,  after 
all,  Joe,"  he  added,  with  a  brightening  face. 

"Go  where,  Happy?" 

Mr.  Fear  looked  grave.  "Don't  you  rec'lect 
meetin'  me  last  night?" 

Louden  shook  his  head.     "No.     Did  I?" 

The  other's  jaw  fell  and  his  brow  corrugated  with 
self-reproach.  "Well,  if  that  don't  show  what  a 
thick-head  I  am!  I  thought  ye  was  all  right  er  I'd 

146 


THE   TRYST 

gone  on  with  ye.  Nobody  c'd  'a'  walked  straighter 
ner  talked  straighter.  Said  ye  was  goin'  to  leave 
Canaan  fer  good  and  didn't  want  nobody  to  know  it. 
Said  ye  was  goin'  to  take  the  'leven-o 'clock  through 
train  fer  the  West,  and  told  me  I  couldn't  come 
to  the  deepo  with  ye.  Said  ye'd  had  enough  o' 
Canaan,  and  of  everything!  I  follered  ye  part  way 
to  the  deepo,  but  ye  turned  and  made  a  motion  fer 
me  to  go  back,  and  I  done  it,  because  ye  seemed  to 
be  kind  of  in  trouble,  and  I  thought  ye'd  ruther  be 
by  yerself.  Well,  sir,  it's  one  on  me!" 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Joe.     "  I  was  all  right." 

"  Was  ye  ?"  returned  the  other.  "  Do  remember, 
do  ye?" 

"Almost,"  Joe  smiled,  faintly. 

"Almost"  echoed  Happy,  shaking  his  head  se 
riously.  "  I  tell  ye,  Joe,  ef  I  was  you—  "  he  began 
slowly,  then  paused  and  shook  his  head  again.  He 
seemed  on  the  point  of  delivering  some  advice, 
but  evidently  perceiving  the  snobbishness  of  such 
a  proceeding,  or  else  convinced  by  his  own  ex 
perience  of  the  futility  of  it,  he  swerved  to  cheer 
fulness: 

"  I  hear  the  boys  is  all  goin'  to  work  hard  fer  the 
primaries.  Mike  says  ye  got  some  chances  ye 
don't  know  about;  he  swears  ye'll  be  the  next 
Mayor  of  Canaan." 

"Nonsense!  Folly  and  nonsense,  Happy!  That's 
i47 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

the  kind  of  thing  I  used  to  think  when  I  was  a  boy. 
But  now — pshaw!"  Joe  broke  off  with  a  tired 
laugh.  "  Tell  them  not  to  waste  their  time  i  Are 
you  going  out  to  the  Beach  this  afternoon?" 

The  little  man  lowered  his  eyes  moodily.  "I'll 
be  near  there,"  he  said,  scraping  his  patched  shoe 
up  and  down  the  curbstone.  "That  feller's  in 
town  agin." 

"What  fellow?" 

"'Nashville'  they  call  him;  Ed's  the  name  he 
give  the  hospital:  Cory — him  that  I  soaked  the 
night  you  come  back  to  Canaan.  He's  after 
Claudine  to  git  his  evens  with  me.  He's  made  a 
raise  somewheres,  and  plays  the  spender.  And 
her — well,  I  reckon  she's  tired  waitin'  table  at  the 
'National  House';  tired  o'  me,  too.  I  got  a  hint 
that  they're  goin'  out  to  the  Beach  together  this 
afternoon." 

Joe  passed  his  hand  wearily  over  his  aching  fore 
head.  "  I  understand,"  he  said,  "  and  you'd  better 
try  to.  Cory's  laying  for  you,  of  course.  You  say 
he's  after  your  wife?  He  must  have  set  about  it 
pretty  openly  if  they're  going  to  the  Beach  to-day, 
for  there  is  always  a  crowd  there  on  Sundays.  Is 
it  hard  for  you  to  see  why  he's  doing  it  ?  It's  be 
cause  he  wants  to  make  you  jealous.  What  for? 
So  that  you'll  tackle  him  again.  And  why  does  he 
want  that?  Because  he's  ready  for  you!" 

148 


THE  TRYST 

The  other's  eyes  suddenly  became  bloodshot,  his 
nostrils  expanding  incredibly.  "Ready,  is  he?  He 
better  be  ready.  I — " 

"That's  enough!"  Joe  interrupted,  swiftly. 
"We'll  have  no  talk  like  that.  I'll  settle  this  for 
you,  myself.  You  send  word  to  Claudine  that  I 
want  to  see  her  at  my  office  to-morrow  morning, 
and  you— you  stay  away  from  the  Beach  to-day. 
Give  me  your  word." 

Mr.  Fear's  expression  softened.  "  All  right,  Joe, " 
he  said.  "I'll  do  whatever  you  tell  me  to.  Any 
of  us  '11  do  that;  we  sure  know  who's  our  friend." 

"Keep  out  of  trouble,  Happy."  Joe  turned  to 
go  and  they  shook  hands.  "  Good  day,  and — keep 
out  of  trouble!" 

When  he  had  gone,  Mr.  Fear's  countenance 
again  gloomed  ominously,  and,  shaking  his  head, 
he  ruminatively  entered  an  adjacent  bar  through 
the  alley  door. 

The  Main  Street  bridge  was  an  old-fashioned, 
wooden,  covered  one,  dust-colored  and  very  nar 
row,  squarely  framing  the  fair,  open  country  be 
yond;  for  the  town  had  never  crossed  the  river. 
Joe  found  the  cool  shadow  in  the  bridge  gracious 
to  his  hot  brow,  and  through  the  slender  chinks  of 
the  worn  flooring  he  caught  bright  glimpses  of 
running  water.  When  he  came  out  of  the  other 
end  he  felt  enough  refreshed  to  light  a  cigar. 

149 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"Well,  here  I  am,"  he  said.  "Across  Main 
Street  bridge — and  it  must  be  getting  on  toward 
noon!"  He  spoke  almost  with  the  aspect  of  dar 
ing,  and  immediately  stood  still,  listening.  " '  Re 
member,'  "  he  ventured  to  repeat,  again  daring, 
" '  Remember  I  Across  Main  Street  bridge  at  noon  /' ' 
And  again  he  listened.  Then  he  chuckled  faintly 
with  relief,  for  the  voice  did  not  return.  "Thank 
God,  I've  got  rid  of  that!"  he  whispered.  "And 
of  the  circus  band  too!" 

A  dust  road  turned  to  the  right,  following  the 
river  and  shaded  by  big  sycamores  on  the  bank; 
the  mongrel,  intensely  preoccupied  with  this  road, 
scampered  away,  his  nose  to  the  ground.  "Good 
enough,"  said  the  master.  "Lead  on  and  I'll 
come  after  you." 

But  he  had  not  far  to  follow.  The  chase  led 
him  to  a  half-hollow  log  which  lay  on  a  low,  grass- 
grown  levee  above  the  stream,  where  the  dog's 
interest  in  the  pursuit  became  vivid ;  temporarily, 
however,  for  after  a  few  minutes  of  agitated  in 
vestigation,  he  was  seized  with  indifference  to  the 
whole  world;  panted  briefly;  slept.  Joe  sat  upon 
the  log,  which  was  in  the  shade,  and  smoked. 

"'Remember!"  He  tried  it  once  more.  "'Across 
Main  Street  bridge  at  noon!"'  Safety  still;  the 
voice  came  not.  But  the  sound  of  his  own  repeti 
tion  of  the  words  brought  him  an  eerie  tremor; 


THE  TRYST 

for  the  mist  of  a  memory  came  with  it;  nothing 
tangible,  nothing  definite,  but  something  very  far 
away  and  shadowy,  yet  just  poignant  enough  to 
give  him  a  queer  feeling  that  he  was  really  keep 
ing  an  appointment  here.  Was  it  with  some  water- 
sprite  that  would  rise  from  the  river?  Was  it 
with  a  dryad  of  the  sycamores  ?  He  knew  too  well 
that  he  might  expect  strange  fancies  to  get  hold  of 
him  this  morning,  and,  as  this  one  grew  uncannily 
stronger,  he  moved  his  head  briskly  as  if  to  shake 
it  off.  The  result  surprised  him;  the  fancy  re 
mained,  but  his  headache  and  dizziness  had  left 
him. 

A  breeze  wandered  up  the  river  and  touched  the 
leaves  and  grass  to  life.  Sparrows  hopped  and 
chirped  in  the  branches,  absurdly  surprised ;  with 
out  doubt  having  concluded  in  the  Sunday  still 
ness  that  the  world  would  drowse  forever ;  and  the 
mongrel  lifted  his  head,  blinked  at  them,  hopeless 
ly  wishing  they  would  alight  near  him,  scratched 
his  ear  with  the  manner  of  one  who  has  neglected 
such  matters  overlong ;  reversed  his  position ;  slept 
again.  The  young  corn,  deep  green  in  the  bottom 
land,  moved  with  a  staccato  flurry,  and  the  dust 
ghost  of  a  mad  whirling  dervish  sped  up  the  main 
road  to  vanish  at  the  bridge  in  a  climax  of  lunacy. 
The  stirring  air  brought  a  smell  of  blossoms;  the 
distance  took  on  faint  lavender  hazes  which  blend- 
ii  151 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

ed  the  outlines  of  the  fields,  lying  like  square 
coverlets  upon  the  long  slope  of  rising  ground  be 
yond  the  bottom-land,  and  empurpled  the  blue 
woodland  shadows  of  the  groves. 

For  the  first  time,  it  struck  Joe  that  it  was  a 
beautiful  day,  and  it  came  to  him  that  a  beautiful 
day  was  a  thing  which  nothing  except  death,  sick 
ness,  or  imprisonment  could  take  from  him — not 
even  the  ban  of  Canaan!  Unforewarned,  music 
sounded  in  his  ears  again;  but  he  did  not  shrink 
from  it  now;  this  was  not  the  circus  band  he  had 
heard  as  he  left  the  Square,  but  a  melody  like  a 
far-away  serenade  at  night,  as  of  "the  horns  of 
elf -land  faintly  blowing";  and  he  closed  his  eyes 
with  the  sweetness  of  it. 

"Go  ahead!"  he  whispered.  "Do  that  all  you 
want  to.  If  you'll  keep  it  up  like  this  awhile,  I'll 
follow  with  'Little  Brown  Jug,  How  I  Love  Thee!' 
It  seems  to  pay,  after  all!" 

The  welcome  strains,  however,  were  but  the 
prelude  to  a  harsher  sound  which  interrupted  and 
annihilated  them:  the  Court-house  bell  clanging 
out  twelve.  "All  right,"  said  Joe.  "It's  noon 
and  I'm  'across  Main  Street  bridge." 

He  opened  his  eyes  and  looked  about  him 
whimsically.  Then  he  shook  his  head  again. 

A  lady  had  just  emerged  from  the  bridge  and 
was  coming  toward  him. 

152 


THE   TRYST 

It  would  be  hard  to  get  at  Joe's  first  impressions 
of  her.  We  can  find  conveyance  for  only  the 
broadest  and  heaviest.  Ancient  and  modern  in 
stances  multiply  the  case  of  the  sleeper  who  dreams 
out  a  long  story  in  accurate  color  and  fine  detail, 
a  tale  of  years,  in  the  opening  and  shutting  of  a 
door.  So  with  Joseph,  in  the  brief  space  of  the 
lady's  approach.  And  with  him,  as  with  the  sleep* 
er,  it  must  have  been — in  fact  it  was,  in  his  recol 
lections,  later — a  blur  of  emotion. 

At  first  sight  of  her,  perhaps  it  was  pre-eminently 
the  shock  of  seeing  anything  so  exquisite  where 
he  had  expected  to  see  nothing  at  all.  For  she 
was  exquisite — horrid  as  have  been  the  uses  of  the 
word,  its  best  and  truest  belong  to  her;  she  was 
that  and  much  more,  from  the  ivory  ferrule  of  the 
parasol  she  carried,  to  the  light  and  slender  foot 
print  she  left  in  the  dust  of  the  road.  Joe  knew  at 
once  that  nothing  like  her  had  ever  before  been 
seen  in  Canaan. 

He  had  little  knowledge  of  the  millinery  arts, 
and  he  needed  none  to  see  the  harmony — harmony 
like  that  of  the  day  he  had  discovered  a  little 
while  ago.  Her  dress  and  hat  and  gloves  and 
parasol  showed  a  pale  lavender  overtint  like  that 
which  he  had  seen  overspreading  the  western 
slope.  (Afterward,  he  discovered  that  the  gloves 
she  wore  that  day  were  gray,  and  that  her  hat  was 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

for  the  most  part  white.)  The  charm  of  fabric 
and  tint  belonging  to  what  she  wore  was  no  shame 
to  her,  not  being  of  primal  importance  beyond  her 
self  ;  it  was  but  the  expression  of  her  daintiness  and 
the  adjunct  of  it.  She  was  tall,  but  if  Joe  could 
have  spoken  or  thought  of  her  as  "slender,"  he 
would  have  been  capable  of  calling  her  lips  "red," 
in  which  case  he  would  not  have  been  Joe,  and 
would  have  been  as  far  from  the  truth  as  her  lips 
were  from  red,  or  as  her  supreme  delicateness  was 
from  mere  slenderness. 

Under  the  summer  hat  her  very  dark  hair  swept 
back  over  her  temples  with  something  near  trim- 
ness  in  the  extent  to  which  it  was  withheld  from 
being  fluffy.  It  may  be  that  this  approach  to 
trimness,  which  was,  after  all,  only  a  sort  of  co 
quetry  with  trimness,  is  the  true  key  to  the  mys 
tery  of  the  vision  of  the  lady  who  appeared  to  Joe. 
Let  us  say  that  she  suppressed  everything  that 
went  beyond  grace ;  that  the  hint  of  floridity  was 
abhorrent  to  her.  "Trim"  is  as  clumsy  as  "slen 
der";  she  had  escaped  from  the  trimness  of  girl 
hood  as  wholly  as  she  had  gone  through  its  colt- 
ishness.  "Exquisite."  Let  us  go  back  to  Joe's 
own  blurred  first  thought  of  her  and  be  content 
with  that! 

She  was  to  pass  him — so  he  thought — and  as 
she  drew  nearer,  his  breath  came  faster. 

154 


THE  TRYST 

"  Rem  ember  I    A  cross  Main  Street  bridge  at  noon  /" 

Was  this  the  fay  of  whom  the  voice  had  warned 
him?  With  that,  there  befell  him  the  mystery 
of  last  night.  He  did  not  remember,  but  it  was 
as  if  he  lived  again,  dimly,  the  highest  hour  of 
happiness  in  a  life  a  thousand  years  ago ;  perfume 
and  music,  roses,  nightingales  and  plucked  harp- 
strings.  Yes;  something  wonderful  was  happen 
ing  to  him. 

She  had  stopped  directly  in  front  of  him;  stop 
ped  and  stood  looking  at  him  with  her  clear  eyes. 
He  did  not  lift  his  own  to  hers;  he  had  long  ex 
perience  of  the  averted  gaze  of  women ;  but  it  was 
not  only  that;  a  great  shyness  beset  him.  He 
had  risen  and  removed  his  hat,  trying  (ineffectual 
ly)  not  to  clear  his  throat ;  his  every-day  sense  urg 
ing  upon  him  that  she  was  a  stranger  in  Canaan 
who  had  lost  her  way — the  preposterousness  of  any 
one's  losing  the  way  in  Canaan  not  just  now  ap 
pealing  to  his  every-day  sense. 

"Can  I — can  I-  'he  stammerer1,  blushing  mis 
erably,  meaning  to  finish  with  "direct  you,"  or 
"show  you  the  way." 

Then  he  looked  at  her  again  and  saw  what 
seemed  to  him  the  strangest  sight  of  his  life.  The 
lady's  eyes  had  filled  with  tears — filled  and  over 
filled. 

"  I'll  sit  here  on  the  log  with  you,"  she  said.     And 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

her  voice  was  the  voice  which  he  had  heard  saying, 
"Remember!  Across  Main  Street  bridge  at  noon!" 

"What!"  he  gasped. 

"You  don't  need  to  dust  it!"  she  went  on, 
tremulously.  And  even  then  he  did  not  know  who 
she  was. 


XI 


WHEN   HALF-GODS    GO 

IgHERE  was  a  silence,  for  if  the  dazzled 
young  man  could  have  spoken  at  all, 
he  could  have  found  nothing  to  say; 
and,  perhaps,  the  lady  would  not 
>  trust  her  own  voice  just  then.  His 
eyes  had  fallen  again;  he  was  too  dazed,  and,  in 
truth,  too  panic-stricken,  now,  to  look  at  her, 
though  if  he  had  been  quite  sure  that  she  was  part 
of  a  wonderful  dream  he  might  have  dared.  She 
was  seated  beside  him,  and  had  handed  him  her 
parasol  in  a  little  way  which  seemed  to  imply  that 
of  course  he  had  reached  for  it,  so  that  it  was  to 
be  seen  how  used  she  was  to  have  all  tiny  things 
done  for  her,  though  this  was  not  then  of  his  trem 
ulous  observing.  He  did  perceive,  however,  that 
he  was  to  furl  the  dainty  thing;  he  pressed  the 
catch,  and  let  down  the  top  timidly,  as  if  fearing  to 
break  or  tear  it ;  and,  as  it  closed,  held  near  his  face, 
he  caught  a  very  faint,  sweet,  spicy  emanation 
from  it  like  wild  roses  and  cinnamon. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

He  did  not  know  her;  but  his  timidity  and  a 
strange  little  choke  in  his  throat,  the  sudden  fright 
which  had  seized  upon  him,  were  not  caused  by 
embarrassment.  He  had  no  thought  that  she 
was  one  he  had  known  but  could  not,  for  the  mo 
ment,  recall ;  there  was  nothing  of  the  awkwardness 
of  that;  no,  he  was  overpowered  by  the  miracle  of 
this  meeting.  And  yet,  white  with  marvelling, 
he  felt  it  to  be  so  much  more  touchingly  a  great 
happiness  than  he  had  ever  known  that  at  first  it 
was  inexpressibly  sad. 

At  last  he  heard  her  voice  again,  shaking  a  little, 
as  she  said: 

"  I  am  glad  you  remembered." 

"Remembered  what?"  he  faltered. 

"Then  you  don't?"  she  cried.  "And  yet  you 
came." 

"Came  here,  do  you  mean?" 

"Yes — now,  at  noon." 

"Ah!"  he  half  whispered,  unable  to  speak  aloud. 
"Was  it  you  who  said — who  said,  'Remember! 
Across — across — 

"'Across  Main  Street  bridge  at  noon!'"  she 
finished  for  him,  gently.  "Yes." 

He  took  a  deep  breath  in  the  wonder  of  it. 
"Where  was  it  you  said  that?"  he  asked,  slowly. 
"Was  it  last  night?" 

"  Don'tyou  even  know  that  you  came  to  meetme  ?" 
158 


WHEN   HALF-GODS  GO 

"I — came  to — to  meet — you!" 

She  gave  a  little  pitying  cry,  very  near  a  sob, 
seeing  his  utter  bewilderment. 

"It  was  like  the  strangest  dream  in  the  world," 
she  said.  "You  were  at  the  station  when  I  came, 
last  night.  You  don't  remember  at  all  ?" 

His  eyes  downcast,  his  face  burning  hotly,  he 
could  only  shake  his  head. 

"Yes,"  she  continued.  "I  thought  no  one 
would  be  there,  for  I  had  not  written  to  say  what 
train  I  should  take,  but  when  I  stepped  down 
from  the  platform,  you  were  standing  there; 
though  you  didn't  see  me  at  first,  not  until  I  had 
called  your  name  and  ran  to  you.  You  said,  '  I've 
come  to  meet  you,'  but  you  said  it  queerly,  I 
thought.  And  then  you  called  a  carriage  for  me; 
but  you  seemed  so  strange — you  couldn't  tell  how 
you  knew  that  I  was  coming,  and — and  then  I — I 
understood  you  weren't  yourself.  You  were  very 
quiet,  but  I  knew,  I  knew!  So  I  made  you  get 
into  the  carriage — and — and — 

She  faltered  to  a  stop,  and  with  that,  shame 
itself  brought  him  courage;  he  turned  and  faced 
her.  She  had  lifted  her  handkerchief  to  her  eyes, 
but  at  his  movement  she  dropped  it,  and  it  was  not 
so  much  the  delicate  loveliness  of  her  face  that  he 
saw  then  as  the  tears  upon  her  cheeks. 

"Ah,  poor  boy! "she  cried.     "Iknew!     Iknew!" 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

"You — you  took  me  home?" 

"You  told  me  where  you  lived,"  she  answered. 
"Yes,  I  took  you  home." 

"I  don't  understand,"  he  stammered,  huskily. 
"I  don't  understand!" 

She  leaned  toward  him  slightly,  looking  at  him 
with  great  intentness. 

"  You  didn't  know  me  last  night,"  she  said.  "  Do 
you  know  me  now?" 

For  answer  he  could  only  stare  at  her,  dum- 
founded.  He  lifted  an  unsteady  hand  toward 
her  appealingly.  But  the  manner  of  the  lady,  as 
she  saw  the  truth,  underwent  an  April  change. 
She  drew  back  lightly;  he  was  favored  with  the 
most  delicious,  low  laugh  he  had  ever  heard,  and, 
by  some  magic  whisk  which  she  accomplished, 
there  was  no  sign  of  tears  about  her. 

"Ah!  I'm  glad  you're  the  same,  Joe!"  she  said. 
"You  never  would  or  could  pretend  very  well. 
I'm  glad  you're  the  same,  and  I'm  glad  I've 
changed,  though  that  isn't  why  you  have  for 
gotten  me.  You've  forgotten  me  because  you 
never  thought  of  me.  Perhaps  I  should  not  have 
known  you  if  you  had  changed  a  great  deal — as  I 
have!" 

He  started,  leaning  back  from  her. 

"Ah!"  she  laughed.  "That's  it!  That  funny 
little  twist  of  the  head  you  always  had,  like  a— 

1 60 


WHEN  HALF-GODS  GO 

like  a — well,  you  know  I  must  have  told  you  a 
thousand  times  that  it  was  like  a  nice  friendly 
puppy;  so  why  shouldn't  I  say  so  now?  And  your 
eyebrows!  When  you  look  like  that,  nobody  could 
ever  forget  you,  Joe!" 

He  rose  from  the  log,  and  the  mongrel  leaped 
upon  him  uproariously,  thinking  they  were  to  go 
home,  belike  to  food. 

The  lady  laughed  again.  "Don't  let  him  spoil 
my  parasol.  And  I  must  warn  you  now:  Never, 
never  tread  on  my  skirt!  I'm  very  irritable  about 
such  things!" 

He  had  taken  three  or  four  uncertain  backward 
steps  from  her.  She  sat  before  him,  radiant  with 
laughter,  the  loveliest  creature  he  had  ever  seen; 
but  between  him  and  this  charming  vision  there 
swept,  through  the  warm,  scented  June  air,  a  veil 
of  snow  like  a  driven  fog,  and,  half  obscured  in  the 
heart  of  it,  a  young  girl  stood,  knee-deep  in  a  drift 
piled  against  an  old  picket  gate,  her  black  water 
proof  and  shabby  skirt  flapping  in  the  blizzard 
like  torn  sails,  one  of  her  hands  out- stretched  tow 
ard  him,  her  startled  eyes  fixed  on  his. 

"And,  oh,  how  like  you,"  said  the  lady;  "how 
like  you  and  nobody  else  in  the  world,  Joe,  to  have 
a  yellow  dog!" 

"Ariel  Tabor!" 

His  lips  formed  the  words  without  sound. 
161 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"Isn't  it  about  time?"  she  said.  "Are  strange 
ladies  in  the  habit  of  descending  from  trains  to 
take  you  home?" 

Once,  upon  a  white  morning  long  ago,  the  sensa 
tional  progress  of  a  certain  youth  up  Main  Street 
had  stirred  Canaan.  But  that  day  was  as  nothing 
to  this.  Mr.  Bantry  had  left  temporary  paralysis 
in  his  wake ;  but  in  the  case  of  the  two  young  peo 
ple  who  passed  slowly  along  the  street  to-day  it 
was  petrifaction,  which  seemingly  threatened  in 
several  instances  (most  notably  that  of  Mr.  Arp) 
to  become  permanent. 

The  lower  portion  of  the  street,  lined  with  three 
and  four  story  buildings  of  brick  and  stone,  rather 
grim  and  hot  facades  under  the  mid-day  sun, 
afforded  little  shade  to  the  church-comers,  who 
were  working  homeward  in  processional  little 
groups  and  clumps,  none  walking  fast,  though 
none  with  the  appearance  of  great  leisure,  since 
neither  rate  of  progress  would  have  been  esteemed 
befitting  the  day.  The  growth  of  Canaan,  steady, 
though  never  startling,  had  left  almost  all  of  the 
churches' down-town,  and  Main  Street  the  principal 
avenue  of  communication  between  them  and  the 
"residence  section."  So,  to-day,  the  intermittent 
procession  stretched  along  the  new  cement  side 
walks  from  a  little  below  the  Square  to  Upper 

162 


WHEN   HALF-GODS   GO 

Main  Street,  where  maples  lined  the  thoroughfare 
and  the  mansions  of  the  affluent  stood  among 
pleasant  lawns  and  shrubberies.  It  was  late;  for 
this  had  been  a  communion  Sunday,  and  those 
far  in  advance,  who  had  already  reached  the  pretty 
and  shady  part  of  the  street,  were  members  of  the 
churches  where  services  had  been  shortest ;  though 
few  in  the  long  parade  looked  as  if  they  had  been 
attending  anything  very  short,  and  many  heads  of 
families  were  crisp  in  their  replies  to  the  theological 
inquiries  of  their  offspring.  The  men  imparted 
largely  a  gloom  to  the  itinerant  concourse,  most 
of  them  wearing  hot,  long  black  coats  and  having 
wilted  their  collars;  the  ladies  relieving  this  gloom 
somewhat  by  the  lighter  tints  of  their  garments; 
the  spick-and-span  little  girls  relieving  it  greatly 
by  their  white  dresses  and  their  faces,  the  latter 
bright  with  the  hope  of  Sunday  ice-cream;  while 
the  boys,  experiencing  some  solace  in  that  they 
were  finally  out  where  a  person  could  at  least 
scratch  himself  if  he  had  to,  yet  oppressed  by  the 
decorous  necessities  of  the  day,  marched  along, 
furtively  planning,  behind  imperturbably  secretive 
countenances,  various  means  for  the  later  dispersal 
of  an  odious  monotony. 

Usually  the  conversation  of  this  long  string  of  the 
homeward-bound  was  not  too  frivolous  or  worldly; 
nay,  it  properly  inclined  to  discussion  of  the  sermon ; 

163 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

that  is,  praise  of  the  sermon,  with  here  and  there  a 
mild  "  I-didn't-like-his-saying"  or  so ;  and  its  lighter 
aspects  were  apt  to  concern  the  next  "Social,"  or 
various  pleasurable  schemes  for  the  raising  of  funds 
to  help  the  heathen,  the  quite  worthy  poor,  or  the 
church. 

This  was  the  serious  and  seemly  parade,  the 
propriety  of  whose  behavior  was  to-day  almost 
disintegrated  when  the  lady  of  the  bridge  walked 
up  the  street  in  the  shadow  of  a  lacy,  lavender 
parasol  carried  by  Joseph  Louden.  The  congrega 
tion  of  the  church  across  the  Square,  that  to  which 
Joe's  step-aunt  had  been  late,  was  just  debouching, 
almost  in  mass,  upon  Main  Street,  when  these  two 
went  by.  It  is  not  quite  the  truth  to  say  that  all 
except  the  children  came  to  a  dead  halt,  but  it  is  not 
very  far  from  it.  The  air  was  thick  with  subdued 
exclamations  and  whisperings. 

Here  is  no  mystery.  Joe  was  probably  the  only 
person  of  respectable  derivation  in  Canaan  who  had 
not  known  for  weeks  that  Ariel  Tabor  was  on  her 
way  home.  And  the  news  that  she  had  arrived  the 
night  before  had  been  widely  disseminated  on  the 
way  to  church,  entering  church,  in  church  (even  so !), 
and  coming  out  of  church.  An  account  of  her  house 
in  the  Avenue  Henri  Martin,  and  of  her  portrait  in 
the  Salon — a  mysterious  business  to  many,  and  not 
lacking  in  grandeur  for  that! — had  occupied  two 

164 


WHEN   HALF-GODS   GO 

columns  in  the  Tocsin,  on  a  day,  some  months  be 
fore,  when  Joe  had  found  himself  inimically  head 
lined  on  the  first  page,  and  had  dropped  the  paper 
without  reading  further.  Ariel's  name  had  been 
in  the  mouth  of  Canaan  for  a  long  time;  unfort 
unately  for  Joe,  however,  not  in  the  mouth  of  that 
Canaan  which  held  converse  with  him. 

Joe  had  not  known  her.  The  women  recognized 
her,  infallibly,  at  first  glance;  even  those  who  had 
quite  forgotten  her.  And  the  women  told  their 
men.  Hence  the  un-Sunday-like  demeanor  of  the 
procession,  for  few  towns  hold  it  more  unseemly  to 
stand  and  stare  at  passers-by,  especially  on  the 
Sabbath. — But  Ariel  Tabor  returned — and  walking 
with — with  Joe  Louden  !  .  .  . 

A  low  but  increasing  murmur  followed  the  two 
as  they  proceeded.  It  ran  up  the  street  ahead  of 
them;  people  turned  to  look  back  and  paused,  so 
that  they  had  to  walk  round  one  or  two  groups. 
They  had,  also,  to  walk  round  Norbert  Flitcroft, 
which  was  very  like  walking  round  a  group.  He 
was  one  of  the  few  (he  was  waddling  home  alone) 
who  did  not  identify  Miss  Tabor,  and  her  effect  upon 
him  was  extraordinary.  His  mouth  opened  and  he 
gazed  stodgily,  his  widening  eyes  like  sun-dogs 
coming  out  of  a  fog.  He  did  not  recognize  her  es 
cort  ;  did  not  see  him  at  all  until  they  had  passed, 
after  which  Mr.  Flitcroft  experienced  a  few  mo- 

165 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

ments  of  trance ;  came  out  of  it  stricken  through  and 
through ;  felt  nervously  of  his  tie ;  resolutely  fell  in 
behind  the  heeling  mongrel  and  followed,  at  a 
distance  of  some  forty  paces,  determined  to  learn 
what  household  this  heavenly  visitor  honored,  and 
thrilling  with  the  intention  to  please  that  same 
household  with  his  own  presence  as  soon  and  as 
often  as  possible. 

Ariel  flushed  a  little  when  she  perceived  the  ex 
tent  of  their  conspicuousness ;  but  it  was  not  the 
blush  that  Joe  remembered  had  reddened  the 
tanned  skin  of  old;  for  her  brownness  had  gone 
long  ago,  though  it  had  not  left  her  merely  pink  and 
white.  This  was  a  delicate  rosiness  rising  from  her 
cheeks  to  her  temples  as  the  earliest  dawn  rises.  If 
there  had  been  many  words  left  in  Joe,  he  would 
have  called  it  a  divine  blush ;  it  fascinated  him,  and 
if  anything  could  have  deepened  the  glamour  about 
her,  it  would  have  been  this  blush.  He  did  not 
understand  it,  but  when  he  saw  it  he  stumbled. 

Those  who  gaped  and  stared  were  for  him  only 
blurs  in  the  background;  truly,  he  saw  "men  as 
trees  walking";  and  when  it  became  necessary  to 
step  out  to  the  curb  in  passing  some  clump  of  peo 
ple,  it  was  to  him  as  if  Ariel  and  he,  enchantedly 
alone,  were  working  their  way  through  underbrush 
in  the  woods. 

He  kept  trying  to  realize  that  this  lady  of  wonder 
166 


WHEN   HALF-GODS  GO 

was  Ariel  Tabor,  but  he  could  not;  he  could  not 
connect  the  shabby  Ariel,  whom  he  had  treated  as 
one  boy  treats  another,  with  this  young  woman  of 
the  world.  He  had  always  been  embarrassed,  him 
self,  and  ashamed  of  her,  when  anything  she  did 
made  him  remember  that,  after  all,  she  was  a  girl ; 
as,  on  the  day  he  ran  away,  when  she  kissed  a  lock 
of  his  hair  escaping  from  the  bandage.  With  that 
recollection,  even  his  ears  grew  red :  it  did  not  seem 
probable  that  it  would  ever  happen  again!  The 
next  instant  he  heard  himself  calling  her  "Miss 
Tabor." 

At  this  she  seemed  amused.  "  You  ought  to  have 
called  me  that,  years  ago,"  she  said,  "for  all  you 
knew  me!" 

"I  did  know  her — you,  I  mean!"  he  answered. 
"  I  used  to  know  nearly  everything  you  were  going 
to  say  before  you  said  it.  It  seems  strange  now— 

"Yes,"  she  interrupted.  "It  does  seem  strange 
now!" 

"Somehow,"  he  went  on,  "I  doubt  if  now  I'd 
know." 

"Somehow,"  she  echoed,  with  fine  gravity,  "I 
doubt  it,  too." 

Although  he  had  so  dim  a  perception  of  the  star 
ing  and  whispering  which  greeted  and  followed  them, 
Ariel,  of  course,  was  thoroughly  aware  of  it,  though 
the  only  sign  she  gave  was  the  slight  blush,  which 
xa  167 


THE   CONQUEST  OF   CANAAN 

very  soon  disappeared.  That  people  turned  to 
look  at  her  may  have  been  not  altogether  a  novelty : 
a  girl  who  had  learned  to  appear  unconscious  of  the 
Continental  stare,  the  following  gaze  of  the  boule 
vards,  the  frank  glasses  of  the  Costanza  in  Rome, 
was  not  ill  equipped  to  face  Main  Street,  Canaan, 
even  as  it  was  to-day. 

Under  the  sycamores,  before  they  started,  they 
had  not  talked  a  great  deal;  there  had  been  long 
silences:  almost  all  her  questions  concerning  the 
period  of  his  runaway  absence;  she  appeared  to 
know  and  to  understand  everything  which  had  hap 
pened  since  his  return  to  the  town.  He  had  not, 
in  his  turn,  reached  the  point  where  he  would  begin 
to  question  her;  he  was  too  breathless  in  his  con 
sciousness  of  the  marvellous  present  hour.  She 
had  told  him  of  the  death  of  Roger  Tabor,  the  year 
before.  "  Poor  man,"  she  said,  gently,  "  he  lived  to 
see  '  how  the  other  fellows  did  it '  at  last,  and  every 
body  liked  him.  He  was  very  happy  over  there." 

After  a  little  while  she  had  said  that  it  was  grow 
ing  close  upon  lunch-time ;  she  must  be  going  back. 

"Then — then — good-bye,"  he  replied,  ruefully. 

"Why?" 

"I'm  afraid  you  don't  understand.  It  wouldn't 
do  for  you  to  be  seen  with  me.  Perhaps,  though, 
you  do  understand.  Wasn't  that  why  you  asked  me 
to  meet  you  out  here  beyond  the  bridge?" 

168 


WHEN  HALF-GODS  GO 

In  answer  she  looked  at  him  full  and  straight  for 
three  seconds,  then  threw  back  her  head  and  closed 
her  eyes  tight  with  laughter.  Without  a  word  she 
took  the  parasol  from  him,  opened  it  herself,  placed 
the  smooth  white  coral  handle  of  it  in  his  hand,  and 
lightly  took  his  arm.  There  was  no  further  demur 
on  the  part  of  the  young  man.  He  did  not  know 
where  she  was  going;  he  did  not  ask. 

Soon  after  Norbert  turned  to  follow  them,  they 
came  to  the  shady  part  of  the  street,  where  the  town 
in  summer  was  like  a  grove.  Detachments  from 
the  procession  had  already,  here  and  there,  turned 
in  at  the  various  gates.  Nobody,  however,  ap 
peared  to  have  gone  in-doors,  except  for  fans,  armed 
with  which  immediately  to  return  to  rockers  upon 
the  shaded  verandas.  As  Miss  Tabor  and  Joe 
went  by,  the  rocking  -  chairs  stopped  ;  the  fans 
poised,  motionless ;  and  perpsiring  old  gentle 
men,  wiping  their  necks,  paused  in  arrested  atti 
tudes. 

Once  Ariel  smiled  politely,  not  at  Mr.  Louden, 
and  inclined  her  head  twice,  with  the  result  that  the 
latter,  after  thinking  for  a  time  of  how  gracefully 
she  did  it  and  how  pretty  the  top  of  her  hat  was, 
became  gradually  conscious  of  a  meaning  in  her 
action :  that  she  had  bowed  to  some  one  across  the 
street.  He  lifted  his  hat,  about  four  minutes  late, 
and  discovered  Mamie  Pike  and  Eugene,  upon  the 

169 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

opposite   pavement,   walking  home   from   church 
together.     Joe  changed  color. 

There,  just  over  the  way,  was  she  who  had  been, 
in  his  first  youth,  the  fairy  child,  the  little  princess 
playing  in  the  palace  yard,  and  always  afterward 
his  lady  of  dreams,  his  fair  unreachable  moon!  And 
Joe,  seeing  her  to-day,  changed  color;  that  was  all! 
He  had  passed  Mamie  in  the  street  only  a  week 
before,  and  she  had  seemed  all  that  she  had  always 
seemed;  to-day  an  incomprehensible  and  subtle 
change  had  befallen  her — a  change  so  mystifying  to 
him  that  for  a  moment  he  almost  doubted  that  she 
was  Mamie  Pike.  It  came  to  him  with  a  breath 
taking  shock  that  her  face  lacked  a  certain  vivacity 
of  meaning;  that  its  sweetness  was  perhaps  too 
placid ;  that  there  would  have  been  a  deeper  good 
ness  in  it  had  there  been  any  hint  of  daring.  As 
tonishing  questions  assailed  him,  startled  him: 
could  it  be  true  that,  after  all,  there  might  be  some 
day  too  much  of  her  ?  Was  her  amber  hair  a  little 
too — fluffy  f  Was  something  the  matter  with  her 
dress  ?  Everything  she  wore  had  always  seemed  so 
beautiful.  Where  had  the  exquisiteness  of  it  gone  ? 
For  there  was  surely  no  exquisiteness  about  it  now ! 
It  was  incredible  that  any  one  could  so  greatly  alter 
in  the  few  days  elapsed  since  he  had  seen  her. 

Strange  matters!  Mamie  had  never  looked 
prettier. 

170 


WHEN  HALF-GODS  GO 

At  the  sound  of  Ariel's  voice  he  emerged  from 
the  profundities  of  his  psychic  enigma  with  a  leap. 

"She  is  lovelier  than  ever,  isn't  she?" 

"Yes,  indeed,"  he  answered,  blankly. 

"  Would  you  still  risk—  '  she  began,  smiling, 
but,  apparently  thinking  better  of  it,  changed  her 
question:  "What  is  the  name  of  your  dog,  Mr. 
Louden?  You  haven't  told  me." 

"Oh,  he's  just  a  yellow  dog,"  he  evaded,  un 
skilfully. 

"Young  man!"  she  said,  sharply. 

"Well,"  he  admitted,  reluctantly,  "I  call  him 
Speck  for  short." 

"And  what  for  long?  I  want  to  know  his  real 
name." 

"  It's  mighty  inappropriate,  because  we're  fond 
of  each  other,"  said  Joe,  "but  when  I  picked  him 
up  he  was  so  yellow,  and  so  thin,  and  so  creeping, 
and  so  scared  that  I  christened  him  '  Respectabil- 
fry."' 

She  broke  into  light  laughter,  stopped  short  in 
the  midst  of  it,  and  became  grave.  "Ah,  you've 
grown  bitter,"  she  said,  gently. 

"No,  no,"  he  protested.  "I  told  you  I  liked 
him." 

She  did  not  answer. 

They  were  now  opposite  the  Pike  Mansion,  and 
to  his  surprise  she  turned,  indicating  the  way  by 

171 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

a  touch  upon  his  sleeve,  and  crossed  the  street  tow 
ard  the  gate,  which  Mamie  and  Eugene  had  en 
tered.  Mamie,  after  exchanging  a  word  with  Eu 
gene  upon  the  steps,  was  already  hurrying  into  the 
house. 

Ariel  paused  at  the  gate,  as  if  waiting  for  Joe 
to  open  it. 

He  cocked  his  head,  his  higher  eyebrow  rose, 
and  the  distorted  smile  appeared.  "I  don't  be 
lieve  we'd  better  stop  here,"  he  said.  "The  last 
time  I  tried  it  I  was  expunged  from  the  face  of 
the  universe." 

"Don't  you  know?"  she  cried.  "I'm  staying 
here.  Judge  Pike  has  charge  of  all  my  property; 
he  was  the  administrator,  or  something."  Then 
seeing  him  chopfallen  and  aghast,  she  went  on: 
"Of  course  you  don't  know!  You  don't  know 
anything  about  me.  You  haven't  even  asked!" 

"You're  going  to  live  here?"  he  gasped. 

"Will  you  come  to  see  me?"  she  laughed.  "  Will 
you  come  this  afternoon?" 

He  grew  white.     "You  know  I  can't,"  he  said. 

"You  came  here  once.  You  risked  a  good  deal 
then,  just  to  see  Mamie  dance  by  a  window.  Don't 
you  dare  a  little  for  an  old  friend?" 

"All  right,"  he  gulped.     "I'll  try." 

Mr.  Bantry  had  come  down  to  the  gate  and  was 
holding  it  open,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  Ariel,  within 

172 


WHEN  HALF-GODS  GO 

them  a  rising  glow.  An  impression  came  to  Joe 
afterward  that  his  step-brother  had  looked  very 
handsome. 

"Possibly  you  remember  me,  Miss  Tabor?"  said 
Eugene,  in  a  deep  and  impressive  voice,  lifting  his 
hat.  "We  were  neighbors,  I  believe,  in  the  old 
days." 

She  gave  him  her  hand  in  a  fashion  somewhat 
mannerly,  favoring  him  with  a  bright,  negligent 
smile.  "Oh,  quite,"  she  answered,  turning  again 
to  Joe  as  she  entered  the  gate.  "Then  I  shall  ex 
pect  you?" 

"I'll  try,"  said  Joe.     "I'll  try." 

He  stumbled  away;  Respectability  and  he,  to 
gether,  interfering  alarmingly  with  the  comfort  of 
Mr.  Flitcroft,  who  had  stopped  in  the  middle  of  the 
pavement  to  stare  glassily  at  Ariel.  Eugene  ac 
companied  the  latter  into  the  house,  and  Joe,  look 
ing  back,  understood:  Mamie  had  sent  his  step 
brother  to  bring  Ariel  in — and  to  keep  him  from 
following. 

"This  afternoon!"  The  thought  took  away  his 
breath,  and  he  became  paler. 

The  Pike  brougham  rolled  by  him,  and  Sam 
Warden,  from  the  box,  favored  his  old  friend  upon 
the  pavement  with  a  liberal  display  of  the  whites 
of  his  eyes.  The  Judge,  evidently,  had  been  de 
tained  after  services — without  doubt  a  meeting  of 

J73 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

the  church  officials.  Mrs.  Pike,  blinking  and 
frightened,  sat  at  her  husband's  side,  agreeing 
feebly  with  the  bull-bass  which  rumbled  out  of 
the  open  window  of  the  brougham:  "I  want 
orthodox  preaching  in  my  church,  and,  by  God, 
madam,  I'll  have  it!  That  fellow  has  got  to  go!" 
Joe  took  off  his  hat  and  wiped  his  brow. 


XII 

TO    REMAIN    ON    THE    FIELD    OF    BATTLE    IS    NOT 
ALWAYS    A    VICTORY 

IAMIE,  waiting  just  inside  the  door 
as  Ariel  and  Eugene  entered,  gave 
the  visitor  a  pale  greeting,  and,  a 
moment  later,  hearing  the  wheels  of 
the  brougham  crunch  the  gravel  of 
the  carriage- drive,  hurried  away,  down  the  broad 
hall,  and  disappeared.  Ariel  dropped  her  parasol 
upon  a  marble-topped  table  near  the  door,  and, 
removing  her  gloves,  drifted  into  a  room  at  the 
left,  where  a  grand  piano  found  shelter  beneath 
crimson  plush.  After  a  moment  of  contemplation, 
she  pushed  back  the  coverlet,  and,  seating  herself 
upon  the  plush -covered  piano-stool  (to  match), 
let  her  fingers  run  up  and  down  the  key-board  once 
and  fall  listlessly  in  her  lap,  as  she  gazed  with  deep 
interest  at  three  life-sized  colored  photographs  (in 
carved  gilt  frames)  upon  the  wall  she  was  facing: 
Judge  Pike,  Mamie,  and  Mrs.  Pike  with  her  rubies. 
"Please  don't  stop  playing,  Miss  Tabor,"  said  a 


THE    CONQUEST    OF    CANAAN 

voice  behind  her.  She  had  not  observed  that 
Eugene  had  followed  her  into  the  room. 

"Very  well,  if  you  like,"  she  answered,  looking 
up  to  smile  absently  at  him.  And  she  began  to 
play  a  rakish  little  air  which,  composed  by  some 
rattle-brain  at  a  cafe  table,  had  lately  skipped  out 
of  the  Moulin  Rouge  to  disport  itself  over  Paris. 
She  played  it  slowly,  in  the  minor,  with  elfish 
pathos;  while  he  leaned  upon  the  piano,  his  eyes 
fixed  upon  her  fingers,  which  bore  few  rings,  none, 
he  observed  with  an  unreasonable  pleasure,  upon 
the  third  finger  of  the  left  hand. 

"It's  one  of  those  simpler  Grieg  things,  isn't 
it?"  he  said,  sighing  gently.  "I  care  for  Grieg." 

"Would  you  mind  its  being  Chaminade?"  she 
returned,  dropping  her  eyes  to  cloak  the  sin. 

"Ah  no;  I  recognize  it  now,"  replied  Eugene. 
"He  appeals  to  me  even  more  than  Grieg." 

At  this  she  glanced  quickly  up  at  him,  but  more 
quickly  down  again,  and  hastened  the  time  em 
phatically,  swinging  the  little  air  into  the  major. 

"Do  you  play  the  'Pilgrim's  Chorus'?" 

She  shook  her  head. 

"Vous  name  pas  Wagner?"  inquired  Eugene, 
leaning  toward  her, 

"Oh  yes,"  she  answered,  bending  her  head  far 
over,  so  that  her  face  was  concealed  from  him, 
except  the  chin,  which,  he  saw  with  a  thrill  of  in- 

176 


ON  THE   FIELD   OF  BATTLE 

explicable  emotion,  was  trembling  slightly.  There 
were  some  small  white  flowers  upon  her  hat,  and 
these  shook  too. 

She  stopped  playing  abruptly,  rose  from  the 
stool  and  crossed  the  room  to  a  large  mahogany 
chair,  upholstered  in  red  velvet  and  of  hybrid  con 
struction,  possessing  both  rockers  and  legs.  She 
had  moved  in  a  way  which  prevented  him  from 
seeing  her  face,  but  he  was  certain  of  her  agitation, 
and  strangely  glad,  while  curious,  tremulous  half- 
thoughts,  edged  with  prophecy,  bubbled  to  the 
surface  of  his  consciousness. 

When  she  turned  to  him,  he  was  surprised  to 
see  that  she  looked  astonishingly  happy,  almost 
as  if  she  had  been  struggling  with  joy,  instead  of 
pain. 

"This  chair,"  she  said,  sinking  into  it,  "makes 
me  feel  at  home." 

Naturally  he  could  not  understand. 

"Because,"  she  explained,  "I  once  thought  I 
was  going  to  live  in  it.  It  has  been  reupholstered, 
but  I  should  know  it  if  I  met  in  anywhere  in  the 
world!" 

"How  very  odd!"  exclaimed  Eugene,  staring. 

"I  settled  here  in  pioneer  days,"  she  went  on, 
tapping  the  arms  lightly  with  her  finger-tips.  "  It 
was  the  last  dance  I  went  to  in  Canaan." 

"I  fear  the  town  was  very  provincial  at  that 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

time,"  he  returned,  having  completely  forgotten 
the  occasion  she  mentioned,  therefore  wishing  to 
shift  the  subject.  "  I  fear  you  may  still  find  it 
so.  There  is  not  much  here  that  one  is  in  sym 
pathy  with,  intellectually  —  few  people  really  of 
the  world." 

"Few  people,  I  suppose  you  mean,"  she  said, 
softly,  with  a  look  that  went  deep  enough  into  his 
eyes,  "few  people  who  really  understand  one?" 

Eugene  had  seated  himself  on  the  sill  of  an  open 
window  close  by.  "  There  has  been,"  he  answered, 
with  the  ghost  of  a  sigh,  "  no  one." 

She  turned  her  head  slightly  away  from  him,  ap 
parently  occupied  with  a  loose  thread  in  her  sleeve. 
There  were  no  loose  threads ;  it  was  an  old  habit  of 
hers  which  she  retained.  "I  suppose,"  she  mur 
mured,  in  a  voice  as  low  as  his  had  been,  "  that  a 
man  of  your  sort  might  find  Canaan  rather  lonely 
and  sad." 

"It  has  been!"  Whereupon  she  made  him  a 
laughing  little  bow. 

"You  are  sure  you  complain  of  Canaan?" 
"Yes!"  he  exclaimed.     "You  don't  know  what 
it  is  to  live  here — 

"  I  think  I  do.     I  lived  here  seventeen  years." 
"  Oh  yes,"  he  began  to  object,  "  as  a  child,  but — " 
"Have  you  any  recollection,"  she  interrupted, 
"of  the  day  before  your  brother  ran  away?    Of 

178 


ON   THE   FIELD  OF  BATTLE 

coming  home  for  vacation — I  think  it  was  your  first 
year  in  college  —  and  intervening  between  your 
brother  and  me  in  a  snow-fight?" 

For  a  moment  he  was  genuinely  perplexed ;  then 
his  face  cleared.  "Certainly,"  he  said:  "I  found 
him  bullying  you  and  gave  him  a  good  punishing 
for  it." 

"Is  that  all  you  remember?" 

"Yes,"  he  replied,  honestly.  "Wasn't  that 
all?" 

"Quite!"  she  smiled,  her  eyes  half  closed.  "Ex 
cept  that  I  went  home  immediately  afterward." 

"Naturally,"  said  Eugene.  "My  step -brother 
wasn't  very  much  chevalier  sans  peur  et  sans  re- 
proche!  Ah,  I  should  like  to  polish  up  my  French  a 
little.  Would  you  mind  my  asking  you  to  read  a 
bit  with  me,  some  little  thing  of  Daudet's  if  you 
care  for  him,  in  the  original?  An  hour,  now  and 
then,  perhaps — " 

Mamie  appeared  in  the  doorway  and  Eugene  rose 
swiftly.  "  I  have  been  trying  to  persuade  Miss 
Tabor,"  he  explained,  with  something  too  much  of 
laughter,  "to  play  again.  You  heard  that  little 
thing  of  Chaminade's — 

Mamie  did  not  appear  to  hear  him;  she  entered 
breathlessly,  and  there  was  no  color  in  her  cheeks. 
"  Ariel,"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  don't  want  you  to  think 
I'm  a  tale-bearer — " 


THE   CONQUEST  OF   CANAAN 

"Oh,  my  dear!"  Ariel  said,  with  a  gesture  of 
deprecation. 

"  No,"  Miss  Pike  went  on,  all  in  one  breath,  "  but 
I'm  afraid  you  will  think  it,  because  papa  knows  and 
he  wants  to  see  you." 

"What  is  it  that  he  knows?" 

"That  you  were  walking  with  Joseph  Louden!" 
(This  was  as  if  she  had  said,  "That  you  poisoned 
your  mother.")  "I  didn't  tell  him,  but  when  we 
saw  you  with  him  I  was  troubled,  and  asked 
Eugene  what  I'd  better  do,  because  Eugene  always 
knows  what  is  best."  (Mr.  Bantry's  expression, 
despite  this  tribute,  was  not  happy.)  "And  he 
advised  me  to  tell  mamma  about  it  and  leave  it 
in  her  hands.  But  she  always  tells  papa  every 
thing—" 

"  Certainly;  that  is  understood,"  said  Ariel,  slow 
ly,  turning  to  smile  at  Eugene. 

"And  she  told  him  this  right  away,"  Mamie 
finished. 

"  Why  shouldn't  she,  if  it  is  of  the  slightest  in 
terest  to  him?" 

The  daughter  of  the  house  exhibited  signs  of  con 
sternation.  "He  wants  to  see  you,"  she  repeated, 
falteringly.  "  He's  in  the  library." 

Having  thus  discharged  her  errand,  she  hastened 
to  the  front-door,  which  had  been  left  open,  and  out 
to  the  steps,  evidently  with  the  intention  of  re- 

180 


ON  THE   FIELD   OF  BATTLE 

moving  herself  as  soon  and  as  far  as  possible  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  library. 

Eugene,  visibly  perturbed,  followed  her  to  the 
doorway  of  the  room,  and  paused. 

"Do  you  know  the  way?"  he  inquired,  with  a 
note  of  solemnity. 

"Where?"  Ariel  had  not  risen. 

"To  the  library." 

"Of  course,"  she  said,  beaming  upon  him.  "I 
was  about  to  ask  you  if  you  wouldn't  speak  to 
the  Judge  for  me.  This  is  such  a  comfortable  old 
friend,  this  chair." 

"Speak  to  him  for  you?"  repeated  the  non 
plussed  Eugene. 

She  nodded  cheerfully.  "  If  I  may  trouble  you. 
Tell  him,  certainly,  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  him." 

He  threw  a  piteous  glance  after  Mamie,  who  was 
now,  as  he  saw  through  the  open  door,  out  upon  the 
lawn  and  beyond  easy  hailing  distance.  When  he 
turned  again  to  look  at  Ariel  he  discovered  that  she 
had  shifted  the  position  of  her  chair  slightly,  and 
was  gazing  out  of  the  window  with  every  appearance 
of  cheerful  meditation.  She  assumed  so  unmis 
takably  that  he  had  of  course  gone  on  her  mission 
that,  dismayed  and  his  soul  quaking,  he  could  find 
neither  an  alternative  nor  words  to  explain  to  this 
dazzling  lady  that  not  he  nor  any  other  could  bear 
such  a  message  to  Martin  Pike. 

181 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

Eugene  went.  There  was  nothing  else  to  do ;  and 
he  wished  with  every  step  that  the  distance  to  the 
portals  of  the  library  might  have  been  greater. 

In  whatever  guise  he  delivered  the  summons,  it 
was  perfectly  efficacious.  A  door  slammed,  a  heavy 
and  rapid  tread  was  heard  in  the  hall,  and  Ariel, 
without  otherwise  moving,  turned  her  head  and 
offered  a  brilliant  smile  of  greeting. 

"  It  was  good  of  you,"  she  said,  as  the  doorway 
filled  with  red,  imperial  wrath,  "  to  wish  to  have  a 
little  chat  with  me.  I'm  anxious,  of  course,  to  go 
over  my  affairs  with  you,  and  last  night,  after  my 
journey,  I  was  too  tired.  But  now  we  might  begin ; 
not  in  detail,  of  course,  just  yet.  That  will  do  for 
later,  when  I've  learned  more  about  business." 

The  great  one  had  stopped  on  the  threshold. 

"Madam,"  he  began,  coldly,  "when  I  say  my 
library,  I  mean  my— 

"Oh  yes,"  she  interrupted,  with  amiable  weari 
ness.  "  I  know.  You  mean  you  keep  all  the 
papers  and  books  of  the  estate  in  there,  but  I  think 
we'd  better  put  them  off  for  a  few  days — ' 

"  I'm  not  talking  about  the  estate!"  he  exclaimed. 
"What  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about  is  being  seen 
with  Joseph  Louden!" 

"  Yes,"  she  nodded,  brightly.  "  That's  along  the 
line  we  must  take  up  first." 

"Yes,  it  is!"  He  hurled  his  bull-bass  at  her. 
182 


ON  THE  FIELD  OF  BATTLE 

"  You  knew  everything  about  him  and  his  standing 
in  this  community!  I  know  you  did,  because  Mrs. 
Pike  told  me  you  asked  all  about  him  from  Mamie 
after  you  came  last  night,  and,  see  here,  don't 
you — 

"Oh,  but  I  knew  before  that,"  she  laughed.  "  I 
had  a  correspondent  in  Canaan,  one  who  has  always 
taken  a  great  interest  in  Mr.  Louden.  I  asked  Miss 
Pike  only  to  get  her  own  point  of  view." 

"  I  want  to  tell  you,  madam,"  he  shouted,  com 
ing  toward  her,  "that  no  member  of  my  house 
hold—" 

"That's  another  point  we  must  take  up  to-day. 
I'm  glad  you  remind  me  of  it,"  she  said,  thought 
fully,  yet  with  so  magically  compelling  an  intona 
tion  that  he  stopped  his  shouting  in  the  middle  of 
a  word ;  stopped  with  an  apoplectic  splutter.  "  We 
must  arrange  to  put  the  old  house  in  order  at  once." 

"  We'll  arrange  nothing  of  the  sort,"  he  respond 
ed,  after  a  moment  of  angry  silence.  "  You're 
going  to  stay  right  here." 

"Ah,  I  know  your  hospitality,"  she  bowed, 
graciously.  "  But  of  course  I  must  not  tax  it  too 
far.  And  about  Mr.  Louden?  As  I  said,  I  want 
to  speak  to  you  about  him." 

"Yes,"  he  intervened,  harshly.  "So  do  I,  and 
I'm  going  to  do  it  quick!  You'll  find — 

Again  she  mysteriously  baffled  him.  "  He's  a 
«3  183 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

dear  old  friend  of  mine,  you  know,  and  I  have  made 
up  my  mind  that  we  both  need  his  help,  you  and  I." 

"What!" 

"  Yes,"  she  continued,  calmly,  "  in  a  business  way 
I  mean.  I  know  you  have  great  interests  in  a  hun 
dred  directions,  all  more  important  than  mine;  it 
isn't  fair  that  you  should  bear  the  whole  burden  of 
my  affairs,  and  I  think  it  will  be  best  to  retain  Mr. 
Louden  as  my  man  of  business.  He  could  take  all 
the  cares  of  the  estate  off  your  shoulders." 

Martin  Pike  spoke  no  word,  but  he  looked  at  her 
strangely ;  and  she  watched  him  with  sudden  keen 
ness,  leaning  forward  in  her  chair,  her  gaze  alert  but 
quiet,  fixed  on  the  dilating  pupils  of  his  eyes.  He 
seemed  to  become  dizzy,  and  the  choleric  scarlet 
which  had  overspread  his  broad  face  and  big  neck 
faded  splotchily. 

Still  keeping  her  eyes  upon  him,  she  went  on: 
"  I  haven't  asked  him  yet,  and  so  I  don't  know 
whether  or  not  he'll  consent,  but  I  think  it  possible 
that  he  may  come  to  see  me  this  afternoon,  and  if 
he  does  we  can  propose  it  to  him  together  and  go 
over  things  a  little." 

Judge  Pike  recovered  his  voice.  "  He'll  get  a 
warm  welcome,"  he  promised,  huskily,  "if  he  sets 
foot  on  my  premises!" 

"You  mean  you  prefer  I  shouldn't  receive  him 
here?"  She  nodded  pleasantly.  "Then  certainly 

184 


ON  THE   FIELD  OF  BATTLE 

I  shall  not.  Such  things  are  much  better  for  offices ; 
you  are  quite  right." 

"  You'll  not  see  him  at  all!" 

"Ah,  Judge  Pike,"  she  lifted  her  hand  with  gen 
tle  deprecation,  "don't  you  understand  that  we 
can't  quite  arrange  that  ?  You  see,  Mr.  Louden  is 
even  an  older  friend  of  mine  than  you  are,  and  so  I 
must  trust  his  advice  about  such  things  more  than 
yours.  Of  course,  if  he  too  should  think  it  better 
for  me  not  to  see  him— 

The  Judge  advanced  toward  her.  "I'm  tired  of 
this,"  he  began,  in  a  loud  voice.  "I'm — 

She  moved  as  if  to  rise,  but  he  had  come  very 
close,  leaning  above  her,  one  arm  out-stretched  and 
at  the  end  of  it  a  heavy  forefinger  which  he  was 
shaking  at  her,  so  that  it  was  difficult  to  get  out  of 
her  chair  without  pushing  him  away — a  feat  ap 
parently  impossible.  Ariel  Tabor,  in  rising,  placed 
her  hand  upon  his  out-stretched  arm,  quite  as  if 
he  had  offered  it  to  assist  her ;  he  fell  back  a  step  in 
complete  astonishment;  she  rose  quickly,  and  re 
leased  his  arm. 

"Thank  you,"  she  said,  beamingly.  "It's  quite 
all  my  fault  that  you're  tired.  I've  been  thought 
less  to  keep  you  so  long,  and  you  have  been  stand 
ing,  too!"  She  swept  lightly  and  quickly  to  the 
door,  where  she  paused,  gathering  her  skirts.  "  I 
shall  not  detain  you  another  instant!  And  if  Mr. 

185 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

Louden  comes,  this  afternoon,  I'll  remember.  I'll 
not  let  him  come  in,  of  course.  It  will  be  perhaps 
pleasanter  to  talk  over  my  proposition  as  we  walk!" 
There  was  a  very  faint,  spicy  odor  like  wild  roses 
and  cinnamon  left  in  the  room  where  Martin  Pike 
stood  alone,  staring  whitely  at  the  open  doorway. 


XIII 

THE    WATCHER   AND   THE    WARDEN 

[HERE  was  a  custom  of  Canaan, 
time-worn  and  seldom  honored  in 
the  breach,  which  put  Ariel,  that 
afternoon,  in  easy  possession  of  a 
coign  of  vantage  commanding  the 
front  gate.  The  heavy  Sunday  dinner  was  finished 
in  silence  (on  the  part  of  Judge  Pike,  deafening) 
about  three  o'clock,  and,  soon  after,  Mamie  tossed 
a  number  of  cushions  out  upon  the  stoop  between 
the  cast-iron  dogs, — Sam  Warden  having  previously 
covered  the  steps  with  a  rug  and  placed  several 
garden  chairs  near  by  on  the  grass.  These  simple 
preparations  concluded,  Eugene  sprawled  com 
fortably  upon  the  rug,  and  Mamie  seated  herself 
near  him,  while  Ariel  wandered  with  apparent 
aimlessness  about  the  lawn,  followed  by  J.he  gaze 
of  Mr.  Bantry,  until  Miss  Pike  begged  her,  a  little 
petulantly,  to  join  them. 

She    came,    looking    about    her    dreamily,    and 
touching  to  her  lips,  now  and  then,  with  an  absent 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

air,  a  clover  blossom  she  had  found  in  the  longer 
grass  against  the  fence.  She  stopped  to  pat  the 
neck  of  one  of  the  cast-iron  deer,  and  with  grave 
eyes  proffered  the  clover-top  first  for  inspection, 
then  as  food.  There  were  those  in  the  world 
who,  seeing  her,  might  have  wondered  that  the 
deer  did  not  play  Galatea  and  come  to  life. 

"No?"  she  said,  aloud,  to  the  steadfast  head. 
"  You  won't  ?  What  a  mistake  to  be  made  of  cast- 
iron!"  She  smiled  and  nodded  to  a  clump  of  lilac- 
bushes  near  a  cedar- tree,  and  to  nothing  else  —  so 
far  as  Eugene  and  Mamie  could  see, — then  walked 
thoughtfully  to  the  steps. 

"  Who  in  the  world  were  you  speaking  to  ?"  asked 
Mamie,  curiously. 

"That  deer." 

"But  you  bowed  to  some  one." 

"Oh,  that,"  Ariel  lifted  her  eyebrows,  — "that 
was  your  father.  Didn't  you  see  him?" 

"No." 

"I  believe  you  can't  from  here,  after  all,"  said 
Ariel,  slowly.  "He  is  sitting  upon  a  rustic  bench 
between  the  bushes  and  the  cedar-tree,  quite  near 
the  gate.  No,  you  couldn't  see  him  from  here; 
you'd  have  to  go  as  far  as  the  deer,  at  least,  and 
even  then  you  might  not  notice  him,  unless  you 
looked  for  him.  He  has  a  book— a  Bible,  I  think- 
but  I  don't  think  he  is  reading." 

188 


THE   WATCHER   AND   THE    WARDEN 

"  He  usually  takes  a  nap  on  Sunday  afternoons," 
said  Mamie. 

"  I  don't  think  he  will,  to-day."  Ariel  looked  at 
Eugene,  who  avoided  her  clear  gaze.  "  He  has  the 
air  of  having  settled  himself  to  stay  for  a  long  time, 
perhaps  until  evening." 

She  had  put  on  her  hat  after  dinner,  and  Mamie 
now  inquired  if  she  would  net  prefer  to  remove  it, 
offering  to  carry  it  in-doors  for  her,  to  Ariel's 
room,  to  insure  its  safety.  "You  look  so  sort  of 
temporary,  wearing  it,"  she  urged,  "as  if  you  were 
only  here  for  a  little  while.  It's  the  loveliest  hat  I 
ever  saw,  and  so  fragile,  too,  but  I'll  take  care- 
Ariel  laughed,  leaned  over,  and  touched  the 
other's  hand  lightly.  "It  isn't  that,  dear." 

"What  is  it,  then?"  Mamie  beamed  out  into  a 
joyful  smile.  She  had  felt  sure  that  she  could  not 
understand  Arie1 ;  was,  indeed,  afraid  of  her;  and 
she  found  herself  astonishingly  pleased  to  be  called 
"dear,"  and  delighted  with  the  little  familiarity 
of  the  hand -tap.  Her  feeling  toward  the  visitor 
(who  was,  so  her  father  had  announced,  to  become 
a  permanent  member  of  the  household)  had  been, 
until  now,  undefined.  She  had  been  on  her  guard, 
watching  for  some  sign  of  conscious  "superiority" 
in  this  lady  who  had  been  so  long  over-seas,  not 
knowing  what  to  make  of  her;  though  thrown, 
by  the  contents  of  her  trunks,  into  a  wistfulness 

189 


THE  CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

which  would  have  had  something  of  rapture  in  it 
had  she  been  sure  that  she  was  going  to  like  Ariel. 
She  had  gone  to  the  latter 's  room  before  church, 
and  had  perceived  uneasily  that  it  had  become, 
even  by  the  process  of  unpacking,  the  prettiest 
room  she  had  ever  seen.  Mrs.  Warden,  wife  of 
Sam,  and  handmaiden  of  the  mansion,  was  assist 
ing,  alternately  faint  and  vociferous  with  mar 
velling.  Mamie  feared  that  Ariel  might  be  a  little 
overpowering. 

With  the  word  "  dear  "  (that  is,  of  course,  with  the 
way  it  was  spoken),  and  with  the  touch  upon  the 
hand,  it  was  all  suddenly  settled;  she  would  not 
understand  Ariel  always — that  was  clear — but  they 
would  like  each  other. 

"I  am  wearing  my  hat,"  answered  Ariel,  "be 
cause  at  any  moment  I  may  decide  to  go  for  a  long 
walk!" 

"  Oh,  I  hope  not,"  said  Mamie.  "  There  are  sure 
to  be  people:  a  few  still  come,  even  though  I'm  an 
engaged  girl.  I  expect  that's  just  to  console  me, 
though,"  she  added,  smiling  over  this  worn  quip 
of  the  betrothed,  and  shaking  her  head  at  Eugene, 
who  grew  red  and  coughed.  "There'll  be  plenty 
to-day,  but  they  won't  be  here  to  see  me.  It's  you, 
Ariel,  and  they'd  be  terribly  disappointed  if  you 
weren't  here.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  the  whole 
town  came;  it's  curious  enough  about  you!" 

190 


THE   WATCHER   AND   THE   WARDEN 

Canaan  (at  least  that  part  of  it  which  Mamie 
meant  when  she  said  "the  whole  town")  already 
offered  testimony  to  her  truthfulness.  Two  gen 
tlemen,  aged  nine  and  eleven,  and  clad  in  white 
"sailor  suits,"  were  at  that  moment  grooving  their 
cheeks  between  the  round  pickets  of  the  gate. 
They  had  come  from  the  house  across  the  street, 
evidently  stimulated  by  the  conversation  at  their 
own  recent  dinner-table  (they  wore  a  few  deposits 
such  as  are  left  by  chocolate- cake),  and  the  motive 
of  their  conduct  became  obvious  when,  upon  being 
joined  by  a  person  from  next  door  (a  starched  and 
frilled  person  of  the  opposite  sex  but  sympathetic 
age) ,  one  of  them  waggled  a  forefinger  through  the 
gate  at  Ariel,  and  a  voice  was  heard  in  explanation  : 

"That's  her." 

There  was  a  rustle  in  the  lilac-bushes  near  the 
cedar-tree;  the  three  small  heads  turned  simulta 
neously  in  that  direction;  something  terrific  was 
evidently  seen,  and  with  a  horrified  "Oooh!"  the 
trio  skedaddled  headlong. 

They  were  but  the  gay  vanguard  of  the  life 
which  the  street,  quite  dead  through  the  Sunday 
dinner -hour,  presently  took  on.  Young  couples 
with  their  progeny  began  to  appear,  returning 
from  the  weekly  reunion  Sunday  dinner  with  rela 
tives  ;  young  people  meditative  (until  they  reached 
the  Pike  Mansion),  the  wives  fanning  themselves 

191 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

or  shooing  the  tots-able-to-walk  ahead  of  them, 
while  the  husbands,  wearing  long  coats,  satin  ties, 
and  showing  dust  upon  their  blazing  shoes,  in 
variably  pushed  the  perambulators.  Most  of  these 
passers-by  exchanged  greetings  with  Mamie  and 
Eugene,  and  all  of  them  looked  hard  at  Ariel  as 
long  as  it  was  possible. 

And  now  the  young  men  of  the  town,  laboriously 
arranged  as  to  apparel,  began  to  appear  on  the 
street  in  small  squads,  making  their  Sunday  rounds ; 
the  youngest  working  in  phalanxes  of  threes  and 
fours,  those  somewhat  older  inclining  to  move  in 
pairs;  the  eldest,  such  as  were  now  beginning  to 
be  considered  middle-aged  beaux,  or  (by  the  ex 
tremely  youthful)  "old  bachelors,"  evidently  con 
sidered  it  advantageous  to  travel  alone.  Of  all 
these,  there  were  few  who  did  not,  before  evening 
fell,  turn  in  at  the  gate  of  the  Pike  Mansion.  Con 
sciously,  shyly  or  confidently,  according  to  the 
condition  of  their  souls,  they  made  their  way  be 
tween  the  cast-iron  deer  to  be  presented  to  the 
visitor. 

Ariel  sat  at  the  top  of  the  steps,  and,  looking 
amiably  over  their  heads,  talked  with  such  as 
could  get  near  her.  There  were  many  who  could 
not,  and  Mamie,  occupying  the  bench  below,  was 
surrounded  by  the  overflow.  The  difficulty  of 
reaching  and  maintaining  a  position  near  Miss 

192 


THE  WATCHER  AND  THE  WARDEN 

Tabor  was  increased  by  the  attitude  and  behavior 
of  Mr.  Flitcroft,  who  that  day  cooled  the  feeling 
of  friendship  which  several  of  his  fellow-townsmen 
had  hitherto  entertained  for  him.  He  had  been 
the  first  to  arrive,  coming  alone,  though  that  was 
not  his  custom,  and  he  established  himself  at 
Ariel's  right,  upon  the  step  just  below  her,  so  dis 
posing  the  great  body  and  the  ponderous  arms  and 
legs  the  gods  had  given  him,  that  no  one  could 
mount  above  him  to  sit  beside  her,  or  approach 
her  from  that  direction  within  conversational 
distance.  Once  established,  he  was  not  to  be 
dislodged,  and  the  only  satisfaction  for  those  in 
this  manner  debarred  from  the  society  of  the  beau 
tiful  stranger  was  obtained  when  they  were  pre 
sented  to  her  and  when  they  took  their  departure. 
On  these  occasions  it  was  necessary  by  custom  for 
them  to  shake  her  hand,  a  ceremony  they  accom 
plished  by  leaning  across  Mr.  Flitcroft,  which  was  a 
long  way  to  lean,  and  the  fat  back  and  shoulders 
were  sore  that  night  because  of  what  had  been 
surreptitiously  done  to  them  by  revengeful  elbows 
and  knees. 

Norbert,  not  ordinarily  talkative,  had  nothing 
to  say;  he  seemed  to  find  sufficient  occupation  in 
keeping  the  place  he  had  gained;  and  from  this 
close  vantage  he  fastened  his  small  eyes  immov 
ably  upon  Ariel's  profile.  Eugene,  also  appar- 

193 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

ently  determined  not  to  move,  sat  throughout  the 
afternoon  at  her  left,  but  as  he  was  thin,  others, 
who  came  and  went,  were  able  to  approach  upon 
that  side  and  hold  speech  with  her. 

She  was  a  stranger  to  these  young  people,  most 
of  whom  had  grown  up  together  in  a  nickname  in 
timacy.  Few  of  them  had  more  than  a  very  im 
perfect  recollection  of  her  as  she  was  before  Roger 
Tabor  and  she  had  departed  out  of  Canaan.  She 
had  lived  her  girlhood  only  upon  their  border 
land,  with  no  intimates  save  her  grandfather  and 
Joe ;  and  she  returned  to  her  native  town  "  a  revela 
tion  and  a  dream,"  as  young  Mr.  Bradbury  told 
his  incredulous  grandmother  that  night. 

The  conversation  of  the  gallants  consisted,  for 
the  greater  part,  of  witticisms  at  one  another's  ex 
pense,  which,  though  evoked  for  Ariel's  benefit  (all 
eyes  furtively  reverting  to  her  as  each  shaft  was 
loosed),  she  found  more  or  less  enigmatical.  The 
young  men,  however,  laughed  at  each  other  loudly, 
and  seemed  content  if  now  and  then  she  smiled. 
"You  must  be  frightfully  ennuied  with  all  this," 
Eugene  said  to  her.  "You  see  how  provincial  we 
still  are." 

She  did  not  answer;  she  had  not  heard  him.  The 
shadows  were  stretching  themselves  over  the  grass, 
long  and  attenuated;  the  sunlight  upon  the  trees 
and  houses  was  like  a  thin,  rosy  pigment;  black- 

194 


THE  WATCHER  AND  THE  WARDEN 

birds  were  calling  each  other  home  to  beech  and 
elm ;  and  Ariel's  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  western 
distance  of  the  street  where  gold-dust  was  begin 
ning  to  quiver  in  the  air.  She  did  not  hear  Eugene, 
but  she  started,  a  moment  later,  when  the  name 
"Joe  Louden  "  was  pronounced  by  a  young  man, 
the  poetic  Bradbury,  on  the  step  below  Eugene. 
Some  one  immediately  said  "  'Sh!"  But  she  leaned 
over  and  addressed  Mr.  Bradbury,  who,  shut  out, 
not  only  from  the  group  about  her,  but  from  the 
other  centring  upon  Miss  Pike,  as  well,  was  holding 
a  private  conversation  with  a  friend  in  like  mis 
fortune. 

"What  were  you  saying  of  Mr.  Louden?"  she 
asked,  smiling  down  upon  the  young  man.  (It 
was  this  smile  which  inspired  his  description  of  her 
as  "a  revelation  and  a  dream.") 

"Oh,  nothing  particular,"  was  his  embarrassed 
reply.  "  I  only  mentioned  I'd  heard  there  was 
some  talk  among  the — '  He  paused  awkwardly, 
remembering  that  Ariel  had  walked  with  Joseph 
Louden  in  the  face  of  Canaan  that  very  day. 
"That  is,  I  mean  to  say,  there's  some  talk  of  his 
running  for  Mayor." 

"What?" 

There  was  a  general  exclamation,  followed  by 
an  uncomfortable  moment  or  two  of  silence.  No 
one  present  was  unaware  of  that  noon  walk,  though 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

there  was  prevalent  a  pleasing  notion  that  it  would 
not  happen  again,  founded  on  the  idea  that  Ariel, 
having  only  arrived  the  previous  evening,  had 
probably  met  Joe  on  the  street  by  accident,  and, 
remembering  him  as  a  playmate  of  her  childhood 
and  uninformed  as  to  his  reputation,  had,  naturally 
enough,  permitted  him  to  walk  home  with  her. 

Mr.  Flitcroft  broke  the  silence,  rushing  into  words 
with  a  derisive  laugh:  "Yes,  he's  'talked  of  for 
Mayor — by  the  saloon  people  and  the  niggers!  I 
expect  the  Beaver  Beach  crowd  would  be  for  him, 
and  if  tramps  could  vote  he  might — " 

"What  is  Beaver  Beach?"  asked  Ariel,  not  turn 
ing. 

"What  is  Beaver  Beach?"  he  repeated,  and  cast 
his  eyes  to  the  sky,  shaking  his  head  awesomely. 
"It's  a  Place,"  he  said,  with  abysmal  solemnity, 
—"a  Place  I  shouldn't  have  mentioned  in  your 
presence,  Miss  Tabor." 

"What  has  it  to  do  with  Mr.  Louden?" 

The  predestined  Norbert  conceived  the  present 
to  be  a  heaven-sent  opportunity  to  enlighten  her 
concerning  Joe's  character,  since  the  Pikes  ap 
peared  to  have  been  derelict  in  the  performance  of 
this  kindness. 

"He  goes  there!"  he  proceeded  heavily.  "He 
lived  there  for  a  while  when  he  first  came  back 
from  running  away,  and  he's  a  friend  of  Mike 

196 


THE  WATCHER  AND  THE  WARDEN 

Sheehan's  that  runs  it ;  he's  a  friend  of  all  the  riff 
raff  that  hang  around  there." 

"How  do  you  know  he  goes  there?" 

"  Why,  it  was  in  the  paper  the  day  after  he  came 
back!"  He  appealed  for  corroboration.  "Wasn't 
it,  Eugene?" 

"No,  no!"  she  persisted.  "Newspapers  are 
sometimes  mistaken,  aren't  they?"  Laughing  a 
little,  she  swept  across  the  bulbous  face  beside  her 
a  swift  regard  that  was  like  a  search-light.  "  How 
do  you  know,  Mr.  Flitcroft,"  she  went  on  very 
rapidly,  raising  her  voice,- — "how  do  you  know 
that  Mr.  Louden  is  familiar  with  this  place  ?  The 
newspapers  may  have  been  falsely  informed;  you 
must  admit  that?  Then  how  do  you  know? 
Have  you  ever  met  any  one  who  has  seen  him 
there?" 

"I've  seen  him  there  myself!"  The  words 
skipped  out  of  Norbert's  mouth  like  so  many  little 
devils,  the  instant  he  opened  it.  She  had  spoken 
so  quickly  and  with  such  vehemence,  looking  him 
full  in  the  eye,  that  he  had  forgotten  everything  in 
the  world  except  making  the  point  to  which  her 
insistence  had  led  him. 

Mamie  looked  horrified;  there  was  a  sound  of 
smothered  laughter,  and  Norbert,  overwhelmed  by 
the  treachery  of  his  own  mouth,  sat  gasping. 

"  It  can't  be  such  a  terrific  place,  then,  after  all," 
197 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

said  Ariel,  gently,  and  turning  to  Eugene,  "Have 
you  ever  been  there,  Mr.  Bantry?"  she  asked. 

He  changed  color,  but  answered  with  enough 
glibness:  "No." 

Several  of  the  young  men  rose;  the  wretched 
Flitcroft,  however,  evading  Mamie's  eye — in  which 
there  was  a  distinct  hint, — sat  where  he  was  until 
all  of  them,  except  Eugene,  had  taken  a  reluctant 
departure,  one  group  after  another,  leaving  in  the 
order  of  their  arrival. 

The  rosy  pigment  which  had  colored  the  trees 
faded;  the  gold-dust  of  the  western  distance  danced 
itself  pale  and  departed;  dusk  stalked  into  the 
town  from  the  east ;  and  still  the  watcher  upon  the 
steps  and  the  warden  of  the  gate  (he  of  the  lilac- 
bushes  and  the  Bible)  held  their  places  and  waited 
— waited,  alas!  in  vain.  .  .  .  Ah!  Joe,  is  this  the 
mettle  of  your  daring  ?  Did  you  not  say  you  would 
"try"?  Was  your  courage  so  frail  a  vessel  that 
it  could  not  carry  you  even  to  the  gate  yonder? 
Surely  you  knew  that  if  you  had  striven  so  far, 
there  you  would  have  been  met!  Perhaps  you 
foresaw  that  not  one,  but  two,  would  meet  you  at 
the  gate,  both  the  warden  and  the  watcher.  What 
of  that?  What  of  that,  O  faint  heart?  What 
was  there  to  fear?  Listen!  The  gate  clicks.  Ah, 
have  you  come  at  last? 

Ariel  started  to  her  feet,  but  the  bent  figure, 
198 


THE  WATCHER  AND  THE  WARDEN 

coming  up  the  walk  in  the  darkness,  was  that  of 
Eskew  Arp.  He  bowed  gloomily  to  Mamie,  and 
in  response  to  her  inquiry  if  he  wished  to  see  her 
father,  answered  no;  he  had  come  to  talk  with  the 
granddaughter  of  his  old  friend  Roger  Tabor. 

"Mr.  Arp!"  called  Ariel.  "I  am  so  very  glad!" 
She  ran  down  to  him  and  gave  him  her  hand. 
"We'll  sit  here  on  the  bench,  sha'n't  we?" 

Mamie  had  risen,  and  skirting  Norbert  frostily, 
touched  Eugene  upon  the  shoulder  as  she  went 
up  the  steps.  He  understood  that  he  was  to  fol 
low  her  in -doors,  and,  after  a  deep  look  at  the 
bench  where  Ariel  had  seated  herself  beside  Mr. 
Arp,  he  obeyed.  Norbert  was  left  a  lonely  ruin 
between  the  cold,  twin  dogs.  He  had  wrought 
desolation  this  afternoon,  and  that  sweet  verdure, 
his  good  name,  so  long  in  the  planting,  so  carefully 
tended,  was  now  a  dreary  waste;  yet  he  contem 
plated  this  not  so  much  as  his  present  aspect  of 
splendid  isolation.  Frozen  by  the  daughter  of  the 
house,  forgotten  by  the  visitor,  whose  conversation 
with  Mr.  Arp  was  carried  on  in  tones  so  low  that  he 
could  not  understand  it,  the  fat  one,  though  heart - 
breakingly  loath  to  take  himself  away,  began  to 
comprehend  that  his  hour  had  struck.  He  rose,  de 
scended  the  steps  to  the  bench,  and  seated  himself 
unexpectedly  upon  the  cement  walk  at  Ariel's  feet. 

"Leg's  gone  to  sleep,"  he  explained,  in  response 

14  199 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

to  her  startled  exclamation ;  but,  like  a  great  soul, 
ignoring  the  accident  of  his  position  as  well  as  the 
presence  of  Mr.  Arp,  he  immediately  proceeded: 
"  Will  you  go  riding  with  me  to-morrow  afternoon  ?" 

"Aren't  you  very  good-natured,  Mr.  Flitcroft?" 
she  asked,  with  an  odd  intonation. 

"  I'm  imposed  on,  often  enough,"  he  replied,  rub 
bing  his  leg,  "by  people  who  think  I  am !  Why?" 

"It  is  only  that  your  sitting  so  abruptly  upon 
the  ground  reminded  me  of  something  that  hap 
pened  long  ago,  before  I  left  Canaan,  the  last  time 
I  met  you." 

"  I  don't  think  I  knew  you  before  you  went 
away.  You  haven't  said  if  you'll  go  riding  with 
me  to-morrow.  Please — " 

"Get  up,"  interrupted  Mr.  Arp,  acidly.  "Some 
body  '11  fall  over  you  if  you  stay  there." 

Such  a  catastrophe  in  truth  loomed  imminent. 
Judge  Pike  was  rapidly  approaching  on  his  way  to 
the  house,  Bible  in  hand — far  better  in  hand  than 
was  his  temper,  for  it  is  an  enraging  thing  to 
wait  five  hours  in  ambush  for  a  man  who  does  not 
come.  In  the  darkness  a  desecration  occurred, 
and  Norbert  perfected  to  the  last  detail  whatever 
had  been  left  incomplete  of  his  own  destruction. 
He  began  lumberingly  to  rise,  talking  at  the  same 
time,  urging  upon  Ariel  the  charms  of  the  road 
side;  wild  flowers  were  in  blossom,  he  said,  re- 

200 


THE   WATCHER  AND   THE   WARDEN 

counting  the  benefits  she  might  derive  through 
acceptance  of  his  invitation;  and  having,  thus 
busily,  risen  to  his  knees,  became  aware  that  some 
one  was  passing  near  him.  This  some  one  Mr. 
Flitcroft,  absorbed  in  artful  persuasions,  may  have 
been  betrayed  by  the  darkness  to  mistake  for 
Eugene.  Reaching  out  for  assistance,  he  mechani 
cally  seized  upon  the  skirts  of  a  coat,  which  he  put 
to  the  uses  of  a  rope,  coming  up  hand-over-hand 
with  such  noble  weight  and  energy  that  he  brought 
himself  to  his  feet  and  the  owner  of  the  coat  to  the 
ground  simultaneously.  The  latter,  hideously  as 
tonished,  went  down  with  an  objurgation  so  out 
rageous  in  venom  that  Mr.  Arp  jumped  with  the 
shock.  Judge  Pike  got  to  his  feet  quickly,  but  not 
so  quickly  as  the  piteous  Flitcroft  betook  himself 
into  the  deep  shadows  of  the  street.  Only  a  word, 
hoarse  and  horror-stricken,  was  left  quivering  on  the 
night  breeze  by  this  accursed,  whom  the  gods,  intent 
upon  his  ruin,  had  early  in  the  day,  at  his  first  sight 
of  Ariel,  in  good  truth,  made  mad:  "Murder!" 

"  Can  I  help  you  brush  off,  Judge  ?"  asked  Eskew, 
rising  painfully. 

Either  Martin  Pike  was  beyond  words,  or  the 
courtesy  proposed  by  the  feeble  old  fellow  (for 
Eskew  was  now  very  far  along  in  years,  and  looked 
his  age)  emphasized  too  bitterly  the  indignity 
which  had  been  put  upon  him:  whatever  the  case, 

201 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

he  went  his  way  in-doors,  leaving  the  cynic's  offer 
unacknowledged.  Eskew  sank  back  upon  the 
bench,  with  the  little  rusty  sounds,  suggestions  of 
creaks  and  sighs,  which  accompany  the  movement 
of  antiques.  "  I've  always  thought,"  he  said,  "  that 
the  Judge  had  spells  when  he  was  hard  of  hearing." 

Oblongs  of  light  abruptly  dropped  from  the 
windows  confronting  them,  one,  falling  across  the 
bench,  appropriately  touching  with  lemon  the 
acrid,  withered  face  and  trembling  hands  of  the 
veteran.  "You  are  younger  than  you  were  nine 
years  ago,  Mr.  Arp,"  said  Ariel,  gayly.  "  I  caught 
a  glimpse  of  you  upon  the  street,  to-day,  and  I 
thought  so  then.  Now  I  see  that  I  was  right." 

"Me — younger!"  he  groaned.  "No,  ma'am!  I'm 
mighty  near  through  with  this  fool  world — and  I'd 
be  glad  of  it,  if  I  didn't  expect  that  if  there  is  an 
other  one  afterwards,  it  would  be  jest  as  ornery!" 

She  laughed,  leaning  forward,  resting  her  elbows 
on  her  knee,  and  her  chin  in  her  hand,  so  that  the 
shadow  of  her  hat  shielded  her  eyes  from  the  light. 
"  I  thought  you  looked  surprised  when  you  saw 
me  to-day." 

"  I  reckon  I  did !"  he  exclaimed.  "  Who  wouldn't 
of  been?" 

"Why?" 

"Why?"  he  repeated,  confounded  by  her  sim 
plicity.  "Why?" 

302 


THE   WATCHER  AND  THE   WARDEN 

"Yes,"  she  laughed.  "That's  what  I'm  anxious 
to  know." 

"'Wasn't  the  whole  town  the  same  way?"  he 
demanded.  "Did  you  meet  anybody  that  didn't 
look  surprised?" 

"But  why  should  they?" 

"Good  Lord  A'mighty!"  he  broke  out.  "Ain't 
you  got  any  lookin'-glasses?" 

"  I  think  almost  all  I  have  are  still  in  the  customs 
warehouse." 

"Then  use  Mamie  Pike's,"  responded  the  old 
man.  "The  town  never  dreamed  you  were  goin' 
to  turn  out  pretty  at  all,  let  alone  the  way  you've 
turned  out  pretty!  The  Tocsin  had  a  good  deal 
about  your  looks  and  so  forth  in  it  once,  in  a  letter 
from  Paris,  but  the  folks  that  remembered  you 
kind  of  set  that  down  to  the  way  papers  talk  about 
anybody  with  money,  and  nobody  was  prepared 
for  it  when  they  saw  you.  You  don't  need  to  drop 
no  curtseys  to  me."  He  set  his  mouth  grimly,  in 
response  to  the  bow  she  made  him.  "7  think 
female  beauty  is  like  all  other  human  furbelows, 
and  as  holler  as  heaven  will  be  if  only  the  good 
people  are  let  in!  But  yet  I  did  stop  to  look  at 
you  when  you  went  past  me  to-day,  and  I  kept 
on  lookin',  long  as  you  were  in  sight.  I  reckon  I 
always  will,  when  I  git  the  chance,  too— only 
shows  what  human  nature  is!  But  that  wasn't 

203 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

all  that  folks  were  starin'  at  to-day.  It  was  your 
walkin'  with  Joe  Louden  that  really  finished  'em, 
and  I  can  say  it  upset  me  more  than  anything  I've 
seen  for  a  good  many  years." 

"Upset  you,  Mr.  Arp?"  she  cried.  "I  don't 
quite  see." 

The  old  man  shook  his  head  deploringly.  "  After 
what  I'd  written  you  about  that  boy — 

"Ah,"  she  said,  softly,  touching  his  sleeve  with 
her  fingers,  "  I  haven't  thanked  you  for  that." 

"You  needn't,"  he  returned,  sharply.  "It  was 
a  pleasure.  Do  you  remember  how  easy  and 
quick  I  promised  you?" 

"I  remember  that  you  were  very  kind." 

"Kind!"  He  gave  forth  an  acid  and  chilling 
laugh.  "  It  was  about  two  months  after  Louden 
ran  away,  and  before  you  and  Roger  left  Canaan, 
and  you  asked  me  to  promise  to  write  to  you  when 
ever  word  of  that  outcast  came — 

"I  didn't  put  it  so,  Mr.  Arp." 

"No,  but  you'd  ought  of!  You  asked  me  to 
write  you  whatever  news  of  him  should  come,  and 
if  he  came  back  to  tell  you  how  and  when  and  all 
about  it.  And  I  did  it,  and  kept  you  sharp  on  his 
record  ever  since  he  landed  here  again.  Do  you 
know  why  I've  done  it?  Do  you  know  why  I 
promised  so  quick  and  easy  I  would  do  it?" 

"Out  of  the  kindness  of  your  heart,  I  think." 
204 


THE  WATCHER  AND   THE   WARDEN 

The  acid  laugh  was  repeated.  "No,  ma'am! 
You  couldn't  of  guessed  colder.  I  promised,  and 
I  kept  my  promise,  because  I  knew  there  would 
never  be  anything  good  to  tell!  And  there  never 
was/" 

"Nothing  at  all?"  she  insisted,  gravely. 

"  Never!  I  leave  it  to  you  if  I've  written  one 
good  word  of  him." 

"You've  written  of  the  treatment  he  has  re 
ceived  here,"  she  began,  "and  I've  been  able  to 
see  what  he  has  borne— and  bears!" 

"  But  have  I  written  one  word  to  show  that  he 
didn't  deserve  it  all?  Haven't  I  told  you  every 
thing,  of  his  associates,  his — 

"Indeed  you  have!" 

"  Then  do  you  wonder  that  I  was  more  surprised 
than  most  when  I  saw  you  walking  with  him  to 
day?  Because  I  knew  you  did  it  in  cold  blood 
and  knowledge  aforethought!  Other  folks  thought 
it  was  because  you  hadn't  been  here  long  enough 
to  hear  his  reputation,  but  I  knew!" 

"Tell  me,"  she  said,  "if  you  were  disappointed 
when  you  saw  me  with  him." 

"Yes,"  he  snapped.     "I  was!" 

"  I  thought  so.  I  saw  the  consternation  in  your 
face!  You  approved,  didn't  you?" 

"I  don't  know  what  you're  talking  about!" 

"Yes,  you  do!  I  know  it  bothers  you  to  have 
205 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

me  read  you  between  the  lines,  but  for  this  once 
you  must  let  me.  You  are  so  consistent  that  you 
are  never  disappointed  when  things  turn  out  badly, 
or  people  are  wicked  or  foolish,  are  you?" 

"No,  certainly  not.     I  expect  it." 

"And  you  were  disappointed  in  me  to-day. 
Therefore,  it  must  be  that  I  was  doing  something 
you  knew  was  right  and  good.  You  see?"  She 
leaned  a  little  closer  to  him,  smiling  angelically. 
"Ah,  Mr.  Arp,"  she  cried,  "I  know  your  secret: 
you  admire  me!" 

He  rose,  confused  and  incoherent,  as  full  of  de 
nial  as  a  detected  pickpocket.  "I  don't!  Me  ad 
mire  f  What?  It's  an  ornery  world,"  he  protested. 
"I  don't  admire  any  human  that  ever  lived!" 

"  Yes,  you  do,"  she  persisted.  "  I've  just  proved 
it!  But  that  is  the  least  of  your  secret;  the  great 
thing  is  this:  you  admire  Mr.  Louden!" 

"I  never  heard  such  nonsense,"  he  continued  to 
protest,  at  the  same  time  moving  down  the  walk 
toward  the  gate,  leaning  heavily  on  his  stick. 
"Nothin'  of  the  kind.  There  ain't  any  logic  to 
that  kind  of  an  argument,  nor  no  reason!" 

"You  see,  I  understand  you,"  she  called  after 
him.  "I'm  sorry  you  go  away  in  the  bitterness 
of  being  found  out." 

"Found  out!"  His  stick  ceased  for  a  moment 
to  tap  the  cement.  "Pooh!"  he  ejaculated,  un- 

206 


THE   WATCHER  AND   THE   WARDEN 

easily.  There  was  a  pause,  followed  by  a  malevo 
lent  chuckle.  "At  any  rate,"  he  said,  with  joy 
in  the  afterthought,  "you'll  never  go  walkin'  with 
him  again!" 

He  waited  for  the  answer,  which  came,  after  a 
time,  sadly.  "Perhaps  you  are  right.  Perhaps 
I  shall  not." 

"Ha,  I  thought  so!     Good-night." 

"Good-night,  Mr.  Arp." 

She  turned  toward  the  lighted  house.  Through 
the  windows  nearest  her  she  could  see  Mamie, 
seated  in  the  familiar  chair,  following  with  happy 
and  tender  eyes  the  figure  of  Eugene,  who  was 
pacing  up  and  down  the  room.  The  town  was 
deadly  quiet:  Ariel  could  hear  the  sound  of  foot 
steps  perhaps  a  block  away.  She  went  to  the  gate 
and  gazed  a  long  time  into  the  empty  street, 
watching  the  yellow  grains  of  light,  sieved  through 
the  maples  from  the  arc  lights  on  the  corner, 
moving  to  and  fro  in  the  deep  shadow  as  the  lamp 
swung  slightly  in  the  night  air.  Somewhere,  not 
far  away,  the  peace  was  broken  by  the  screams  of 
a  "parlor  organ,"  which  honked  and  wailed  in 
pious  agonies  (the  intention  was  hymnal),  in 
terminably  protracting  each  spasm.  Presently  a 
woman's  voice  outdid  the  organ,  a  voice  which 
made  vivid  the  picture  of  the  woman  who  owned 

207 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

it,  and  the  ploughed  forehead  of  her,  above  the 
nose-glasses,  when  the  "grace- notes"  were  proudly 
given  birth.  "Rescue  the  Perishing"  was  the 
startlingly  appropriate  selection,  rendered  with 
inconceivable  lingering  upon  each  syllable:  "Roos- 
cyoo  the  Poor-oosh-oong!"  At  unexpected  in 
tervals  two  male  voices,  evidently  belonging  to 
men  who  had  contracted  the  habit  of  holding  tin  in 
their  mouths,  joined  the  lady  in  a  thorough  search 
for  the  Lost  Chord. 

That  was  the  last  of  silence  in  Canaan  for  an 
hour  or  so.  The  organ  was  merely  inaugural: 
across  the  street  a  piano  sounded;  firm,  emphatic, 
determined,  vocal  competition  with  the  instrument 
here  also;  "Rock  of  Ages"  the  incentive.  Another 
piano  presently  followed  suit,  in  a  neighboring 
house:  "Precious  Jewels."  More  distant,  a  second 
organ  was  heard;  other  pianos,  other  organs,  took 
up  other  themes ;  and  as  a  wakeful  puppy's  bark 
ing  will  go  over  a  village  at  night,  stirring  first  the 
nearer  dogs  to  give  voice,  these  in  turn  stimulat 
ing  those  farther  away  to  join,  one  passing  the 
excitement  on  to  another,  until  hounds  in  farm 
yards  far  beyond  the  town  contribute  to  the  long 
distance  conversation,  even  so  did  "Rescue  the 
Perishing"  enliven  the  greater  part  of  Canaan. 

It  was  this  that  made  Ariel  realize  a  thing  of 
which  hitherto  she  had  not  been  able  to  convince 

208 


THE  WATCHER  AND  THE  WARDEN 

herself:  that  she  was  actually  once  more  in  the 
town  where  she  had  spent  her  long-ago  girlhood, 
now  grown  to  seem  the  girlhood  of  some  other 
person.  It  was  true:  her  foot  was  on  IKT  native 
heath  and  her  name  was  Ariel  Tabor— the  very 
name  of  the  girl  who  had  shared  the  town's  dis 
approval  with  Joe  Louden!  "Rescue  the  Perish 
ing"  brought  it  all  back  to  her;  and  she  listened  to 
these  sharply  familiar  rites  of  the  Canaanite  Sab 
bath  evening  with  a  shiver  of  pain. 

She  turned  from  the  gate  to  go  into  the  house, 
heard  Eugene's  voice  at  the  door,  and  paused.  He 
was  saying  good-night  to  Mamie. 

"And  please  say  'au  revoir'  to  Miss  Tabor  for 
me,"  he  added,  peering  out  under  his  hand.  "  I 
don't  know  where  she  can  have  gone." 

"Probably  she  came  in  and  went  to  her  room," 
said  Mamie. 

"Don't  forget  to  tell  her  'au  revoir." 

"I  won't,  dear.     Good-night." 

"  Good-night."  She  lifted  her  face  and  he  kissed 
her  perfunctorily.  Then  he  came  down  the  steps 
and  went  slowly  toward  the  gate,  looking  about 
him  into  the  darkness  as  if  searching  for  something ; 
but  Ariel  had  fled  away  from  the  path  of  light  that 
led  from  the  open  door. 

She  skimmed  noiselessly  across  the  lawn  and 
paused  at  the  side  of  the  house,  leaning  against 

209 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

the  veranda,  where,  on  a  night  long  past,  a  boy 
had  hid  and  a  girl  had  wept.  A  small  creaking 
sound  fell  upon  her  ear,  and  she  made  out  an  un 
gainly  figure  approaching,  wheeling  something  of 
curious  shape. 

"Is  that  you,  Sam?"  she  said. 

Mr.  Warden  stopped,  close  by.  "Yes'm,"  he 
replied.  "I'm  a-gittin'  out  de  hose  to  lay  de  dus' 
yonnah."  He  stretched  an  arm  along  the  cross 
bar  of  the  reel,  relaxing  himself,  apparently,  for 
conversation.  "  Y'all  done  change  consid'able, 
Miss  Airil,"  he  continued,  with  the  directness  of  one 
sure  of  privilege. 

"You  think  so,  Sam?" 

"Yes'm.  Ev'ybody  think  so,  /  reckon.  Be'n 
a  tai'ble  lot  o'  talkum  'bout  you  to-day.  Dun'no' 
how  all  dem  oth'  young  ladies  goin'  take  it!"  He 
laughed  with  immoderate  delight,  yet,  as  to  the 
volume  of  mere  sound,  discreetly,  with  an  eye  to 
open  windows.  "You  got  'em  all  beat,  Miss  Airil! 
Dey  ain'  be'n  no  one  'roun'  dis  town  evah  got  in  a 
thousum  mile  o'  you!  Fer  looks,  an'  de  way  you 
walk  an'  ca'y  yo'self ;  an'  as  fer  de  clo'es— name  o' 
de  good  Ian',  honey,  dey  ain'  nevah  see  style  befo'! 
My  ole  woman  say  you  got  mo'  fixin's  in  a  minute 
dan  de  whole  res'  of  'em  got  in  a  yeah.  She  say 
when  she  helpin'  you  onpack  she  must  'a'  see  mo'n 
a  hunerd  paihs  o'  slippahs  alone!  An'  de  good 

210 


THE  WATCHER  AND  THE  WARDEN 

Man  knows  I  'membuh  w'en  you  riinnin'  roun'  de 
back-yods  an'  up  de  alley  rompin'  'ith  Joe  Louden, 
same  you's  a  boy!" 

"Do  you  ever  see  Mr.  Louden,  nowadays?"  she 
asked. 

His  laugh  was  repeated  with  the  same  discreet 
violence.  "Am'  I  seen  him  dis  ve'y  day,  fur  up 
de  street  at  de  gate  yonnah,  stan'in'  'ith  you,  w'en 
I  drivin'  de  Judge?" 

"You — you  didn't  happen  to  see  him  anywhere 
this — this  afternoon?" 

"No'm,  I  ain'  see  him."  Sam's  laughter  van 
ished  and  his  lowered  voice  became  serious.  "  I 
ain'  see  him,  but  I  hearn  about  him." 

"What  did  you  hear?" 

"  Dey  be'n  consid'able  stir  on  de  aidge  o'  town, 
I  reckon,"  he  answered,  gravely,  "an1  dey  be'n 
havin'  some  trouble  out  at  de  Beach— 

"Beaver  Beach,  do  you  mean?" 

"Yes'm.  Dey  be'n  some  shootin'  goin'  on  out 
dat  way." 

She  sprang  forward  and  caught  at  his  arm  with 
out  speaking. 

"Joe  Louden  all  right,"  he  said,  reassuringly. 
"  Ain'  nuffum  happen  to  him!  Nigh  as  I  kin  mek 
out  f'm  de  talk,  dat  Happy  Fear  gone  on  de  ram- 
page  ag'in,  an'  dey  hatta  sent  fer  Mist'  Louden  to 
come  in  a  hurry." 

211 


XIV 

WHITE    ROSES    IN   A    LAW-OFFICE 

IS  upon  a  world  canopied  with  storm, 
hung  with  mourning  purple  and  hab 
ited  in  black,  did  Mr.  Flitcroft  turn 
his  morning  face  at  eight  o'clock 
antemeridian  Monday,  as  he  hied 
himself  to  his  daily  duty  at  the  Washington  Na 
tional  Bank.  Yet  more  than  the  merely  funereal 
gloomed  out  from  the  hillocky  area  of  his  counte 
nance.  Was  there  not,  i'faith,  a  glow,  a  Vesuvian 
shimmer,  beneath  the  murk  of  that  darkling  eye? 
Was  here  one,  think  you,  to  turn  the  other  cheek  ? 
Little  has  he  learned  of  Norbert  Flitcroft  who  con 
ceives  that  this  fiery  spirit  was  easily  to  be  quench 
ed!  Look  upon  the  jowl  of  him,  and  let  him  who 
dares  maintain  that  people — even  the  very  Pikes 
themselves— were  to  grind  beneath  their  brougham 
wheels  a  prostrate  Norbert  and  ride  on  scatheless! 
In  this  his  own  metaphor  is  nearly  touched:  "I 
guess  not!  They  don't  run  over  me!  Martin  Pike 
better  look  out  how  he  tries  it!" 

312 


WHITE   ROSES   IN  A  LAW-OFFICE 

So  Mother  Nature  at  her  kindly  tasks,  good 
Norbert,  uses  for  her  unguent  our  own  perfect  in 
consistency:  and  often  when  we  are  stabbed  deep 
in  the  breast  she  distracts  us  by  thin  scratches  in 
other  parts,  that  in  the  itch  of  these  we  may  forget 
the  greater  hurt  till  it  be  healed.  Thus,  the  re 
membrance  of  last  night,  when  you  undisguisedly 
ran  from  the  wrath  of  a  Pike,  with  a  pretty  girl 
looking  on  (to  say  nothing  of  the  acrid  Arp,  who 
will  fling  the  legend  on  a  thousand  winds),  might 
well  agonize  you  now,  as,  in  less  hasty  moments 
and  at  a  safe  distance,  you  brood  upon  the  piteous 
figure  you  cut.  On  the  contrary,  behold:  you  see 
no  blood  crimsoning  the  edges  of  the  horrid  gash 
in  your  panoply  of  self-esteem :  you  but  smart  and 
scratch  the  scratches,  forgetting  your  wound  in 
the  hot  itch  for  vengeance.  It  is  an  itch  which 
will  last  (for  in  such  matters  your  temper  shall  be 
steadfast),  and  let  the  great  Goliath  in  the  mean 
time  beware  of  you!  You  ran,  last  night.  You 
ran — of  course  you  ran.  Why  not  ?  You  ran  to 
fight  another  day ! 

A  bank  clerk  sometimes  has  opportunities. 

The  stricken  fat  one  could  not  understand  how 
it  came  about  that  he  had  blurted  out  the  damning 
confession  that  he  had  visited  Beaver  Beach. 
When  he  tried  to  solve  the  puzzle,  his  mind  refused 
the  strain,  became  foggy  and  the  terrors  of  his 

213 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

position  acute.  Was  he,  like  Joe  Louden,  to  endure 
the  ban  of  Canaan,  and  like  him  stand  excom 
municate  beyond  the  pale  because  of  Martin  Pike's 
displeasure?  For  Norbert  saw  with  perfect  clear 
ness  to-day  what  the  Judge  had  done  for  Joe. 
Now  that  he  stood  in  danger  of  a  fate  identical, 
this  came  home  to  him.  How  many  others,  he 
wondered,  would  do  as  Mamie  had  done  and  write 
notes  such  as  he  had  received  by  the  hand  of  Sam 
Warden,  late  last  night? 

"  DEAR  SIR."  (This  from  Mamie,  who,  in  the  Canaanit- 
ish  way,  had  been  wont  to  address  him  as  "Norb"!) — 
' '  My  father  wishes  me  to  state  that  after  your  remark 
yesterday  afternoon  on  the  steps  which  was  overheard  by 
my  mother  who  happened  to  be  standing  in  the  hall  behind 
you  and  your  behavior  to  himself  later  on — he  considers 
it  impossible  to  allow  you  to  call  any  more  or  to  speak  to 
any  member  of  his  household. 

"  Yours  respectfully, 

"MAMIE  PIKE." 

Erasures  and  restorations  bore  witness  to  a  con 
siderable  doubt  in  Mamie's  mind  concerning  "  Yours 
respectfully,"  but  she  had  finally  let  it  stand,  evi 
dently  convinced  that  the  plain  signature,  without 
preface,  savored  of  an  intimacy  denied  by  the  con 
text. 

"Dear  sir'!"  repeated  Norbert,  between  set 
teeth.  ' '  Impossible  to  allow  you  to  call  any  more ' !" 
These  and  other  terms  of  his  dismissal  recurred  to 

214 


WHITE  ROSES  IN  A  LAW-OFFICE 

him  during  the  morning,  and  ever  and  anon  he 
looked  up  from  his  desk,  his  lips  moving  to  the  tune 
of  those  horrid  phrases,  and  stared  out  at  the  street. 
Basilisk  glaring  this,  with  no  Christian  softness  in  it, 
not  even  when  it  fell  upon  his  own  grandfather,  sit 
ting  among  the  sages  within  easy  eye-shot  from 
the  big  window  at  Norbert's  elbow.  However, 
Colonel  Flitcroft  was  not  disturbed  by  the  gaze 
of  his  descendant,  being,  in  fact,  quite  unaware 
of  it.  The  aged  men  were  having  a  busy  morn 
ing. 

The  conclave  was  not  what  it  had  been.  [See  Arp 
and  all  his  works.}  There  had  come,  as  the  years 
went  by,  a  few  recruits;  but  faces  were  missing: 
the  two  Tabors  had  gone,  and  Uncle  Joe  Davey 
could  no  longer  lay  claim  to  the  patriarchship ;  he 
had  laid  it  down  with  a  half -sigh  and  gone  his  way. 
Eskew  himself  was  now  the  oldest  of  the  conscript 
fathers,  the  Colonel  and  Squire  Buckalew  pressing 
him  closely,  with  Peter  Bradbury  no  great  time 
behind. 

To-day  they  did  not  plant  their  feet  upon  the 
brass  rail  inside  the  hotel  windows,  but  courted 
the  genial  weather  out-doors,  and,  as  their  summer 
custom  was,  tilted  back  their  chairs  in  the  shade  of 
the  western  wall  of  the  building. 

"  And  who  could  of  dreamed,"  Mr.  Bradbury  was 
saying,  with  a  side-glance  of  expectancy  at  Eskew, 

15  215 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"  that  Jonas  Tabor  would  ever  turn  out  to  have  a 
niece  like  that!" 

Mr.  Arp  ceased  to  fan  himself  with  his  wide  straw 
hat  and  said  grimly: 

"I  don't  see  as  Jonas  has  'turned  out' — not  in 
particular!  If  he's  turned  at  all,  lately,  I  reckon 
it's  in  his  grave,  and  I'll  bet  he  has  if  he  had  any 
way  of  hearin'  how  much  she  must  of  spent  for 
clothes!" 

"  I  believe,"  Squire  Buckalew  began,  "  that  young 
folks'  memories  are  short." 

" They're  lucky!"  interjected  Eskew.  The  short 
er  your  memory  the  less  meanness  you  know." 

"  I  meant  young  folks  don't  remember  as  well  as 
older  people  do,"  continued  the  Squire.  "I  don't 
see  what's  so  remarkable  in  her  comin'  back  and 
walkin'  up-street  with  Joe  Louden.  She  used  to  go 
kitin'  round  with  him  all  the  time,  before  she  left 
here.  And  yet  everybody  talks  as  if  they  never 
heard  of  sech  a  thing!" 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  Colonel  Flitcroft,  hesitat 
ingly,  "  that  she  did  right.  I  know  it  sounds  kind 
of  a  queer  thing  to  say,  and  I  stirred  up  a  good  deal 
of  opposition  at  home,  yesterday  evening,  by  sort 
of  mentioning  something  of  the  kind.  Nobody 
seemed  to  agree  with  me,  except  Norbert,  and  he 
didn't  say  much,  but — 

He  was  interrupted  by  an  uncontrollable  cackle 
216 


WHITE  ROSES  IN  A  LAW-OFFICE 

which  issued  from  the  mouth  of  Mr.  Arp.  The 
Colonel  turned  upon  him  with  a  frown,  inquiring  the 
cause  of  his  mirth. 

"It  put  me  in  mind,"  Mr.  Arp  began  promptly, 
"of  something  that  happened  last  night." 

"What  was  it?" 

Eskew's  mouth  was  open  to  tell,  but  he  remem 
bered,  just  in  time,  that  the  grandfather  of  Norbert 
was  not  the  audience  properly  to  be  selected  for  this 
recital,  choked  a  half-born  word,  coughed  loudly, 
realizing  that  he  must  withhold  the  story  of  the 
felling  of  Martin  Pike  until  the  Colonel  had  taken 
his  departure,  and  replied: 

"Nothin'  to  speak  of.  Go  on  with  your  ar 
gument." 

"  I've  finished,"  said  the  Colonel.  "  I  only  want 
ed  to  say  that  it  seems  to  me  a  good  action  for  a 
young  lady  like  that  to  come  back  here  and  stick 
to  her  old  friend  and  playmate." 

"Stick  to  him!"  echoed  Mr.  Arp.  "She  walked 
up  Main  Street  with  him  yesterday.  Do  you  call 
that  stickin'  to  him?  She's  been  away  a  good 
while;  she's  forgotten  what  Canaan  is.  You  wait 
till  she  sees  for  herself  jest  what  his  standing  in  this 
com— 

"  I  agree  with  Eskew  for  once,"  interrupted  Peter 
Bradbury.  "  I  agree  because — 

"Then  you  better  wait,"  cried  Eskew,  allowing 
217 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

him  to  proceed  no  farther,  "  till  you  hear  what  you're 
agreein'  to !  I  say :  you  take  a  young  lady  like  that, 
pretty  and  rich  and  all  cultured  up,  and  it  stands 
to  reason  that  she  won't — 

"No,  it  don't,"  exclaimed  Buckalew,  impatient 
ly.  "Nothing  of  the  sort!  I  tell  you— 

Eskew  rose  to  his  feet  and  pounded  the  pavement 
with  his  stick.  "  It  stands  to  reason  that  she  won't 
stick  to  a  man  no  other  decent  woman  will  speak  to, 
a  feller  that's  been  the  mark  for  every  stone  throwed 
in  the  town,  ever  since  he  was  a  boy,  an  outcast 
with  a  reputation  as  black  as  a  preacher's  shoes  on 
Sunday!  I  don't  care  if  he's  her  oldest  friend  on 
earth,  she  won't  stick  to  him !  She  walked  with  him 
yesterday,  but  you  can  mark  my  words:  his  goose 
is  cooked!"  The  old  man's  voice  rose,  shrill  and 
high.  "It  ain't  in  human  nature  fer  her  to  do  it! 
You  hear  what  I  say:  you'll  never  see  her  with  Joe 
Louden  again  in  this  livin'  world,  and  she  as  good 
as  told  me  so,  herself,  last  night.  You  can  take 
your  oath  she's  quit  him  already!  Don't — 

Eskew  paused  abruptly,  his  eyes  widening  be 
hind  his  spectacles ;  his  jaw  fell ;  his  stick,  raised  to 
hammer  the  pavement,  remained  suspended  in  the 
air.  A  sudden  color  rushed  over  his  face,  and  he 
dropped  speechless  in  his  chair.  The  others,  after 
staring  at  him  in  momentary  alarm,  followed  the 
direction  of  his  gaze. 

218 


WHITE   ROSES   IN  A  LAW-OFFICE 

Just  across  Main  Street,  and  in  plain  view,  was  the 
entrance  to  the  stairway  which  led  to  Joe's  office. 
Ariel  Tabor,  all  in  cool  gray,  carrying  a  big  bunch  of 
white  roses  in  her  white-gloved  hands,  had  just 
crossed  the  sidewalk  from  a  carriage  and  was  as 
cending  the  dark  stairway.  A  moment  later  she 
came  down  again,  empty-handed,  got  into  the  car 
riage,  and  drove  away. 

"She  missed  him,"  said  Squire  Buckalew.  "I 
saw  him  go  out  half  an  hour  ago.  But,"  he 
added,  and,  exercising  a  self-restraint  close  upon 
the  saintly,  did  not  even  glance  toward  the 
heap  which  was  Mr.  Arp,  "  I  notice  she  left  her 
flowers!" 

Ariel  was  not  the  only  one  who  climbed  the  dingy 
stairs  that  day  and  read  the  pencilled  script  upon 
Joe's  door:  "Will  not  return  until  evening.  J. 
Louden."  Many  others  came,  all  exceedingly  un 
like  the  first  visitor:  some  were  quick  and  watchful, 
dodging  into  the  narrow  entrance  furtively;  some 
smiled  contemptuously  as  long  as  they  were  in  view 
of  the  street,  drooping  wanly  as  they  reached  the 
stairs:  some  were  brazen  and  amused;  and  some 
were  thin  and  troubled.  Not  all  of  them  read  the 
message,  for  not  all  could  read,  but  all  looked 
curiously  through  the  half-opened  door  at  the  many 
roses  which  lifted  their  heads  delicately  from  a 

219 


water-pitcher  on  Joe's  desk  to  scent  that  dusty 
place  with  their  cool  breath. 

Most  of  these  clients,  after  a  grunt  of  disap 
pointment,  turned  and  went  away;  though  there 
were  a  few,  either  unable  to  read  the  message  or 
so  pressed  by  anxiety  that  they  disregarded  it, 
who  entered  the  room  and  sat  down  to  wait  for 
the  absentee.  [There  were  plenty  of  chairs  in  the 
office  now,  bookcases  also,  and  a  big  steel  safe.] 
But  when  evening  came  and  the  final  gray  of  twi 
light  had  vanished  from  the  window-panes,  all 
had  gone  except  one,  a  woman  who  sat  patiently, 
her  eyes  upon  the  floor,  and  her  hands  folded  in 
her  lap,  until  the  footsteps  of  the  last  of  the  others 
to  depart  had  ceased  to  sound  upon  the  pavement 
below.  Then,  with  a  wordless  exclamation,  she 
sprang  to  her  feet,  pulled  the  window-shade  care 
fully  down  to  the  sill,  and,  when  she  had  done 
that,  struck  a  match  on  the  heel  of  her  shoe — a 
soiled  white  canvas  shoe,  not  a  small  one — and 
applied  the  flame  to  a  gas  jet.  The  yellow  light 
flared  up;  and  she  began  to  pace  the  room  hag 
gardly. 

The  court-house  bell  rang  nine,  and  as  the 
tremors  following  the  last  stroke  pulsed  them 
selves  into  silence,  she  heard  a  footfall  on  the 
stairs  and  immediately  relapsed  into  a  chair,  fold 
ing  her  hands  again  in  her  lap,  her  expression  com- 

220 


WHITE   ROSES   IN   A   LAW-OFFICE 

posing  itself  to  passivity,  for  the  step  was  very 
much  lighter  than  Joe's. 

A  lady  beautifully  dressed  in  white  dimity  ap 
peared  in  the  doorway.  She  hesitated  at  the  thresh 
old,  not,  apparently,  because  of  any  timidity  (her 
expression  being  too  thoughtfully  assured  for  that), 
but  almost  immediately  she  came  in  and  seated 
herself  near  the  desk,  acknowledging  the  other's 
presence  by  a  slight  inclination  of  the  head. 

This  grave  courtesy  caused  a  strong,  deep  flush 
to  spread  itself  under  the  rouge  which  unevenly 
covered  the  woman's  cheeks,  as  she  bowed  elabor 
ately  in  return.  Then,  furtively,  during  a  pro 
tracted  silence,  she  took  stock  of  the  new-comer, 
from  the  tip  of  her  white  suede  shoes  to  the  filmy 
lace  and  pink  roses  upon  her  wide  white  hat ;  and 
the  sidelong  gaze  lingered  marvellingly  upon  the 
quiet,  delicate  hands,  slender  and  finely  expres 
sive,  in  their  white  gloves. 

Her  own  hands,  unlike  the  lady's,  began  to 
fidget  confusedly,  and,  the  silence  continuing,  she 
coughed  several  times,  to  effect  the  preface  required 
by  her  sense  of  fitness,  before  she  felt  it  proper  to 
observe,  with  a  polite  titter: 

"Mr.  Louden  seems  to  be  a  good  while  comin'." 

"Have  you  been  waiting  very  long?"  asked  the 
lady. 

"Ever  since  six  o'clock!" 

221 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"Yes,"  said  the  other.     "That  is  very  long." 

"Yes,  ma'am,  it  cert'nly  is."  The  ice  thus 
broken,  she  felt  free  to  use  her  eyes  more  directly, 
and,  after  a  long,  frank  stare,  exclaimed: 

"Why,  you  must  be  Miss  Ariel  Tabor,  ain't 
you?" 

"Yes."  Ariel  touched  one  of  the  roses  upon 
Joe's  desk  with  her  finger  -  tips.  "  I  am  Miss 
Tabor." 

"Well,  excuse  me  fer  asking;  I'm  sure  it  ain't 
any  business  of  mine,"  said  the  other,  remember 
ing  the  manners  due  one  lady  from  another.  "  But 
I  thought  it  must  be.  I  expect,"  she  added,  with 
loud,  inconsequent  laughter,  "there's  not  many 
in  Canaan  ain't  heard  you've  come  back."  She 
paused,  laughed  again,  nervously,  and  again,  less 
loudly,  to  take  off  the  edge  of  her  abruptness: 
gradually  tittering  herself  down  to  a  pause,  to 
fill  which  she  put  forth:  "Right  nice  weather  we 
be'n  havin'." 

"Yes,"  said  Ariel. 

"  It  was  rainy,  first  of  last  week,  though.  1  don't 
mind  rain  so  much" — this  with  more  laughter, — 
"  I  stay  in  the  house  when  it  rains.  Some  people 
don't  know  enough  to,  they  say!  You've  heard 
that  saying,  ain't  you,  Miss  Tabor?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,    I    tell    you"    she    exclaimed,    noisily, 

222 


WHITE   ROSES   IN   A   LAW-OFFICE 

"there's  plenty  ladies  and  gen'lemen  in  this  town 
that's  like  that!" 

Her  laughter  did  not  cease ;  it  became  louder  and 
shriller.  It  had  been,  until  now,  a  mere  lubrica 
tion  of  the  conversation,  helping  to  make  her  easier 
in  Miss  Tabor's  presence,  but  as  it  increased  in 
shrillness,  she  seemed  to  be  losing  control  of  her 
self,  as  if  her  laughter  were  getting  away  with  her ; 
she  was  not  far  from  hysteria,  when  it  stopped  with 
a  gasp,  and  she  sat  up  straight  in  her  chair,  white 
and  rigid. 

''There!"  she  said,  listening  intently.  "Ain't 
that  him  ?"  Steps  sounded  upon  the  pavement  be 
low;  paused  for  a  second  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs; 
there  was  the  snap  of  a  match;  then  the  steps 
sounded  again,  retreating.  She  sank  back  in  her 
chair  limply.  "  It  was  only  some  one  stoppin'  to 
light  his  cigar  in  the  entry.  It  wasn't  Joe  Louden's 
step,  anyway." 

"You  know  his  step?"  Ariel's  eyes  were  bent 
upon  the  woman  wonderingly. 

"  I'd  know  it  to-night,"  was  the  answer,  delivered 
with  a  sharp  and  painful  giggle.  "I  got  plenty 
reason  to!" 

Ariel  did  not  respond.  She  leaned  a  little  closer 
to  the  roses  upon  the  desk,  letting  them  touch  her 
face,  and  breathing  deeply  of  their  fragrance  to 
neutralize  a  perfume  which  pervaded  the  room; 

223 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

an  odor  as  heavy  and  cheap-sweet  as  the  face  of 
the  woman  who  had  saturated  her  handkerchief 
with  it ,  a  scent  which  went  with  her  perfectly  and 
made  her  unhappily  definite ;  suited  to  her  clumsily 
dyed  hair,  to  her  soiled  white  shoes,  to  the  hot  red 
hat  smothered  in  plumage,  to  the  restless  stub- 
fingered  hands,  to  the  fat,  plated  rings,  of  which 
she  wore  a  great  quantity,  though,  surprisingly 
enough,  the  large  diamonds  in  her  ears  were  pure, 
and  of  a  very  clear  water. 

It  was  she  who  broke  the  silence  once  more. 
"Well,"  she  drawled,  coughing  genteelly  at  the 
same  time,  "better  late  than  never,  as  the  saying 
is.  I  wonder  who  it  is  gits  up  all  them  comical 
sayings?"  Apparently  she  had  no  genuine  desire 
for  light  upon  this  mystery,  as  she  continued,  im 
mediately:  "I  have  a  gen'leman  friend  that's  al 
ways  gittin'  'em  off.  'Well,'  he  says,  'the  best  of 
friends  must  part,'  and,  'Thou  strikest  me  to  the 
heart' — all  kinds  of  cracks  like  that.  He's  re;M 
comical.  And  yet,"  she  went  on  in  an  altered 
voice,  "  I  don't  like  him  much.  I'd  be  glad  if  I  d 
never  seen  him." 

The  change  of  tone  was  so  marked  that  Ariel 
looked  at  her  keenly,  to  find  herself  surprised  into 
pitying  this  strange  client  of  Joe's;  for  tears  had 
sprung  to  the  woman's  eyes  and  slid  along  the  lids, 
where  she  tried  vainly  to  restrain  them.  Her  face 

224 


WHITE   ROSES  IN  A    LAW-OFFICE 

had  altered  too,  like  her  voice,  haggard  lines  sud 
denly  appearing  about  the  eyes  and  mouth  as  if 
they  had  just  been  pencilled  there:  the  truth  issu 
ing  from  beneath  her  pinchbeck  simulations,  like 
a  tragic  mask  revealed  by  the  displacement  of  a 
tawdry  covering. 

"  I  expect  you  think  I'm  real  foolish,"  she  said, 
"  but  I  be'n  waitin'  so  awful  long — and  I  got  a  good 
deal  of  worry  on  my  mind  till  I  see  Mr.  Louden." 

"  I  am  sorry,"  Ariel  turned  from  the  roses,  and 
faced  her  and  the  heavy  perfume.  "  I  hope  he 
will  come  soon." 

"  I  hope  so,"  said  the  other.  "  It's  something  to 
do  with  me  that  keeps  him  away,  and  the  longer  he 
is  the  more  it  scares  me."  She  shivered  and  set  her 
teeth  together.  "  It's  kind  of  hard,  waitin'.  I 
cert'nly  got  my  share  of  troubles." 

"  Don't  you  think  that  Mr.  Louden  will  be  able 
to  take  care  of  them  for  you?" 

"Oh,  I  hope  so,  Miss  Tabor!  If  he  can't,  no 
body  can."  She  was  crying  openly  now,  wiping 
her  eyes  with  her  musk-soaked  handkerchief.  "  We 
had  to  send  fer  him  yesterday  afternoon— 

"To  come  to  Beaver  Beach,  do  you  mean?" 
asked  Ariel,  leaning  forward. 

"Yes,  ma'am.  It  all  begun  out  there, — least 
ways  it  begun  before  that  with  me.  It  was  all 
rny  fault.  I  deserve  all  that's  comin'  to  me,  I 

225 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

guess.     I  done  wrong — I  done  wrong!     I'd  oughtn't 
never  to  of  went  out  there  yesterday." 

She  checked  herself  sharply,  but,  after  a  mo 
ment's  pause,  continued,  encouraged  by  the  grave 
kindliness  of  the  delicate  face  in  the  shadow  of  the 
wide  white  hat.  "I'd  oughtn't  to  of  went,"  she 
repeated.  "Oh,  I  reckon  I'll  never,  never  learn 
enough  to  keep  out  o'  trouble,  even  when  I  see  it 
comin'l  But  that  gen'leman  friend  of  mine — Mr. 
Nashville  Cory's  his  name — he  kind  o'  coaxed  me 
into  it,  and  he's  right  comical  when  he's  with  ladies, 
and  he's  good  company — arid  he  says,  'Claudine, 
we'll  dance  the  light  fantastic/  he  says,  and  I  kind 
o'  wanted  something  cheerful — I'd  be'n  workin' 
steady  quite  a  spell,  and  it  looked  like  he  wanted 
to  show  me  a  good  time,  so  I  went,  and  that's  what 
started  it."  Now  that  she  had  begun,  she  babbled 
on  with  her  story,  at  times  incoherently ;  full  of  ex 
cuses,  made  to  herself  more  than  to  Ariel,  pitifully 
endeavoring  to  convince  herself  that  the  responsi 
bility  for  the  muddle  she  had  made  was  not  hers. 
"Mr.  Cory  told  me  my  husband  was  drinkin'  and 
wouldn't  know  about  it,  and,  'Besides,'  he  says, 
'what's  the  odds?'  Of  course  I  knowed  there  was 
trouble  between  him  and  Mr.  Fear — that's  my  hus 
band — a  good  while  ago,  when  Mr.  Fear  up  and 
laid  him  out.  That  was  before  me  and  Mr.  Fear 
got  married;  I  hadn't  even  be'n  to  Canaan  then; 

226 


WHITE  ROSES  IN  A  LAW-OFFICE 

I  was  on  the  stage.  I  was  on  the  stage  quite  a 
while  in  Chicago  before  I  got  acquainted  with  my 
husband." 

"You  were  on  the  stage?"  Ariel  exclaimed,  in 
voluntarily. 

"Yes,  ma'am.  Livin'  pitchers  at  Goldberg's 
Rat'skeller,  and  amunchoor  nights  I  nearly  always 
done  a  sketch  with  a  gen'leman  friend.  That's  the 
way  I  met  Mr.  Fear;  he  seemed  to  be  real  struck 
with  me  right  away,  and  soon  as  I  got  through  my 
turn  he  ast  me  to  order  whatever  I  wanted.  He's 
always  gen'lemanlike  when  he  ain't  had  too  much, 
and  even  then  he  vurry,  vurry  seldom  acks  rough 
unless  he's  jealous.  That  was  the  trouble  yester 
day.  I  never  would  of  gone  to  the  Beach  if  I'd 
dreamed  what  was  comin'!  When  we  got  there  I 
saw  Mike  —  that's  the  gen'leman  that  runs  the 
Beach — lookin'  at  my  company  and  me  kind  of 
anxious,  and  pretty  soon  he  got  me  away  from  Mr. 
Cory  and  told  me  what's  what.  Seems  this  Cory 
only  wanted  me  to  go  with  him  to  make  my  hus 
band  mad,  and  he'd  took  good  care  that  Mr.  Fear 
heard  I'd  be  there  with  him !  And  he'd  be'n  hang- 
in'  around  me,  every  time  he  struck  town,  jest  to 
make  Mr.  Fear  mad — the  fresh  thing!  You  see  he 
wanted  to  make  my  husband  start  something  again, 
this  Mr.  Cory  did,  and  he  was  fixed  for  it." 

"  I  don't  understand,"  said  Ariel. 
227 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"It's  this  way:  if  Mr.  Fear  attacted  Mr.  Cory, 
why,  Mr.  Cory  could  shoot  him  down  and  claim  self- 
defence.  You  see,  it  would  be  easy  for  Mr.  Cory, 
because  Mr.  Fear  nearly  killed  him  when  they  had 
their  first  trouble,  and  that  would  give  Mr.  Cory  a 
good  excuse  to  shoot  if  Mr.  Fear  jest  only  pushed 
him.  That's  the  way  it  is  with  the  law.  Mr.  Cory 
could  wipe  out  their  old  score  and  git  off  scot-free." 

"Surely  not!" 

"  Yes,  ma'am,  that's  the  way  it  would  be.  And 
when  Mike  told  me  that  Mr.  Cory  had  got  me  out 
there  jest  to  provoke  my  husband  I  went  straight 
up  to  him  and  begun  to  give  him  a  piece  of  my  mind. 
I  didn't  talk  loud,  because  I  never  was  one  to  make 
a  disturbance  and  start  trouble  the  way  some  do; 
and  right  while  I  was  talkin'  we  both  see  my  hus 
band  pass  the  window.  Mr.  Cory  give  a  kind  of 
yelling  laugh  and  put  his  arm  round  me  jest  as  Mr. 
Fear  come  in  the  door.  And  then  it  all  happened 
so  quick  that  you  could  hardly  tell  what  was  goin' 
on.  Mr.  Fear,  we  found  afterwards,  had  promised 
Mr.  Louden  that  he  wouldn't  come  out  there,  but  he 
took  too  much — you  could  see  that  by  the  look  of 
him — and  fergot  his  promise ;  fergot  everything  but 
me  and  Cory,  I  guess. 

"  He  come  right  up  to  us,  where  I  was  tryin'  to 
git  away  from  Cory's  arm — it  was  the  left  one  he 
had  around  me,  and  the  other  behind  his  back — and 

338 


WHITE   ROSES   IN  A   LAW-OFFICE 

neither  of  'em  said  a  word.  Cory  kept  on  laughin' 
loud  as  he  could,  and  Mr.  Fear  struck  him  in  the 
mouth.  He's  little,  but  he  can  hit  awful  hard,  and 
Mr.  Cory  let  out  a  screech,  and  I  see  his  gun  go  off- 
right  in  Mr.  Fear's  face,  I  thought,  but  it  wasn't ;  it 
only  scorched  him.  Most  of  the  other  gen'lemen 
had  run,  but  Mike  made  a  dive  and  managed  to 
knock  the  gun  to  one  side,  jest  barely  in  time. 
Then  Mike  and  three  or  four  others  that  come  out 
from  behind  things  separated  'em — both  of  'em 
fightin'  to  git  at  each  other.  They  locked  Mr.  Cory 
up  in  Mike's  room,  and  took  Mr.  Fear  over  to  where 
they  hitch  the  horses.  Then  Mike  sent  fer  Mr. 
Louden  to  come  out  to  talk  to  my  husband  and  take 
care  of  him — he's  the  only  one  can  do  anything  with 
him  when  he's  like  that — but  before  Mr.  Louden 
could  git  there,  Mr.  Fear  broke  loose  and  run 
through  a  corn-field  and  got  away ;  at  least  they 
couldn't  find  him.  And  Mr.  Cory  jumped  through 
a  window  and  slid  down  into  one  of  Mike's  boats, 
so  they'd  both  gone.  When  Mr.  Louden  come,  he 
only  stayed  long  enough  to  hear  what  had  happened 
and  started  out  to  find  Happy — that's  my  husband. 
He's  bound  to  keep  them  apart,  but  he  hasn't  found 
Mr.  Fear  yet  or  he'd  be  here." 

Ariel  had  sunk  back  in  her  chair.     "  Why  should 
your  husband  hide?"  she  asked,  in  a  low  voice. 

"Waitin'  fer  his  chance  at  Cory,"  the  woman 
229 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

answered,  huskily.  "  I  expect  he's  afraid  the  cops 
are  after  him,  too,  on  account  of  the  trouble,  and  he 
doesn't  want  to  git  locked  up  till  he's  met  Cory 
again.  They  ain't  after  him,  but  he  may  not  know 
it.  They  haven't  heard  of  the  trouble,  I  reckon,  or 
they'd  of  run  Cory  in.  He's  around  town  to-day, 
drinkin'  heavy,  and  I  guess  he's  lookin'  fer  Mr.  Fear 
about  as  hard  as  Mr.  Louden  is."  She  rose  to  her 
feet,  lifted  her  coarse  hands,  and  dropped  them 
despairingly.  "Oh,  I'm  scared!"  she  said.  "Mr. 
Fear's  be'n  mighty  good  to  me." 

A  slow  and  tired  footstep  was  heard  upon  the 
stairs,  and  Joe's  dog  ran  into  the  room  drooping- 
ly,  wagged  his  tail  with  no  energy,  and  crept  under 
the  desk.  Mrs.  Fear  wheeled  toward  the  door  and 
stood,  rigid,  her  hands  clenched  tight,  her  whole 
body  still,  except  her  breast,  which  rose  and 
fell  with  her  tumultuous  breathing.  She  could 
not  wait  till  the  laggard  step  reached  the  land 
ing. 

"Mr.  Louden!"  she  called,  suddenly. 

Joe's  voice  came  from  the  stairway.  "  It's  all 
right,  Claudine.  It's  all  fixed  up.  Don't  worry." 

Mrs.  Fear  gave  a  thick  cry  of  relief  and  sank  back 
in  her  chair  as  Joe  entered  the  room.  He  came  in 
shamblingly,  with  his  hand  over  his  eyes  as  if  they 
were  very  tired  and  the  light  hurt  them,  so  that, 
for  a  moment  or  two,  he  did  not  perceive  the  second 

230 


WHITE   ROSES  IN  A  LAW-OFFICE 

visitor.     Then  he  let  his  hand  fall,  revealing  a  face 
very  white  and  worn. 

"  It's  all  right,  Claudine,"  he  repeated.  "  It's  all 
right." 

He  was  moving  to  lay  his  hat  on  the  desk  when 
his  eye  caught  first  the  roses,  then  fell  upon  Ariel, 
and  he  stopped  stock-still  with  one  arm  outstretch 
ed,  remaining  for  perhaps  ten  seconds  in  that  atti 
tude,  while  she,  her  lips  parted,  her  eyes  lustrous, 
returned  his  gaze  with  a  look  that  was  as  in 
scrutable  as  it  was  kind. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  as  if  in  answer  to  a  question,  "  I 
have  come  here  twice  to-day."  She  nodded  slight 
ly  toward  Mrs.  Fear.  "  I  can  wait.  I  am  very 
glad  you  bring  good  news." 

Joe  turned  dazedly  toward  the  other.  "Clau 
dine,"  he  said,  "you've  been  telling  Miss  Tabor." 

"I  cert'nly  have!"  Mrs.  Fear's  expression  had 
cleared  and  her  tone  was  cheerful.  "  I  don't  see  no 
harm  in  that !  I'm  sure  she's  a  good  friend  of  yours, 
Mr.  Louden." 

Joe  glanced  at  Ariel  with  a  faint,  troubled  smile, 
and  turned  again  to  Mrs.  Fear.  "  I've  had  a  long 
talk  with  Happy." 

"  I'm  awful  glad.  Is  he  ready  to  listen  to  reason  ? 
she  asked,  with  a  titter. 

"  He's  waiting  for  you." 

"  Where  ?"     She  rose  quickly. 
16  231 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

"Stop,"  said  Joe,  sharply.  "You  must  be  very 
careful  with  him — " 

"Don't  you  s'pose  I'm  goin'  to  be?"  she  in 
terrupted,  with  a  catch  in  her  voice.  "  Don't  you 
s'pose  I've  had  trouble  enough?" 

"No,"  said  Joe,  deliberately  and  impersonally, 
"  I  don't.  Unless  you  keep  remembering  to  be 
careful  all  the  time,  you'll  follow  the  first  impulse 
you  have,  as  you  did  yesterday,  and  your  excuse 
will  be  that  you  never  thought  any  harm  would 
come  of  it.  He's  in  a  queer  mood ;  but  he  will  for 
give  you  if  you  ask  him— 

"Well,  ain't  that  what  I  want  to  do!"  she  ex 
claimed. 

"I  know,  I  know,"  he  said,  dropping  into  the 
desk-chair  and  passing  his  hand  over  his  eyes  with 
a  gesture  of  infinite  weariness.  "  But  you  must  be 
very  careful.  I  hunted  for  him  most  of  the  night 
and  all  day.  He  was  trying  to  keep  out  of  my  way 
because  he  didn't  want  me  to  find  him  until  he  had 
met  this  fellow  Nashville.  Happy  is  a  hard  man 
to  come  at  when  he  doesn't  care  to  be  found,  and 
he  kept  shifting  from  place  to  place  until  I  ran  him 
down.  Then  I  got  him  in  a  corner  and  told  him 
that  you  hadn't  meant  any  harm — which  is  always 
true  of  you,  poor  woman! — and  I  didn't  leave  him 
till  he  had  promised  me  to  forgive  you  if  you  would 
come  and  ask  him.  And  you  must  keep  him  out  of 

232 


WHITE  ROSES  IN  A  LAW-OFFICE 

Cory's  way  until  I  can  arrange  to  have  him — Cory, 
I  mean — sent  out  of  town.  Will  you  ?" 

"Why,  cert'nly,"  she  answered,  smiling.  "That 
Nashville's  the  vurry  last  person  I  ever  want  to 
see  again — the  fresh  thing!"  Mrs.  Fear's  burden 
had  fallen;  her  relief  was  perfect  and  she  beamed 
vapidly ;  but  Joe  marked  her  renewed  irresponsi 
bility  with  an  anxious  eye. 

"You  mustn't  make  any  mistakes,"  he  said, 
rising  stiffly  with  fatigue. 

"Not  me!  I  don't  take  no  more  chances,"  she 
responded,  tittering  happily.  "Not  after  yester 
day.  My!  but  it's  a  load  off  my  shoulders!  I  do 
hate  it  to  have  gen'lemen  quarrelling  over  me, 
especially  Mr.  Fear.  I  never  did  like  to  start  any 
thing  ;  I  like  to  see  people  laugh  and  be  friendly,  and 
I'm  mighty  glad  it's  all  blown  over.  I  kind  o' 
thought  it  would,  all  along.  Psho  /"  She  burst 
into  genuine,  noisy  laughter.  "  I  don't  expect 
either  of  'em  meant  no  real  harm  to  each  other, 
after  they  got  cooled  off  a  little!  If  they'd  met 
to-day,  they'd  probably  both  run!  Now,  Mr. 
Louden,  where's  Happy?" 

Joe  went  to  the  door  with  her.  He  waited  a 
moment,  perplexed,  then  his  brow  cleared  and  he 
said  in  a  low  voice:  "You  know  the  alley  beyond 
Vent  Miller's  pool-room?  Go  down  the  alley  till 
you  come  to  the  second  gate.  Go  in,  and  you'll  see 

233 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

a  basement  door  opening  into  a  little  room  under 
Miller's  bar.  The  door  won't  be  locked,  and  Hap 
py's  in  there  waiting  for  you.  But  remember— 

"Oh,  don't  you  worry,"  she  cut  him  off,  loudly. 
"I  know  him!  Inside  of  an  hour  I'll  have  him 
laughin'  over  all  this.  You'll  see!" 

When  she  had  gone,  he  stood  upon  the  landing 
looking  thoughtfully  after  her.  "  Perhaps,  after 
all,  that  is  the  best  mood  to  let  her  meet  him  in," 
he  murmured. 

Then,  with  a  deep  breath,  he  turned.  The 
heavy  perfume  had  gone;  the  air  was  clear  and 
sweet,  and  Ariel  was  pressing  her  face  into  the 
roses  again.  As  he  saw  how  like  them  she  was, 
he  was  shaken  with  a  profound  and  mysterious 
sigh,  like  that  which  moves  in  the  breast  of  one 
who  listens  in  the  dark  to  his  dearest  music. 


XV 

HAPPY   FEAR   GIVES   HIMSELF   UP 

!  KNOW  how  tired  you  are,"  said  Ariel, 
as  he  came  back  into  the  room.  "  I 
shall  not  keep  you  long." 

"Ah,  please  do!"  he  returned, 
i  quickly,  beginning  to  fumble  with 
the  shade  of  a  student-lamp  at  one  end  of  the 
desk. 

"Let  me  do  that,"  she  said.  "Sit  down."  He 
obeyed  at  once,  and  watched  her  as  she  lit  the  lamp, 
and,  stretching  upon  tiptoe,  turned  out  the  gas. 
"No,"  she  continued,  seated  again  and  looking 
across  the  desk  at  him,  "  I  wanted  to  see  you  at  the 
first  possible  opportunity,  but  what  I  have  to  say— 

"Wait,"  he  interrupted.  "  Let  me  tell  you  why 
I  did  not  come  yesterday." 

"  You  need  not  tell  me.  I  know."  She  glanced 
at  the  chair  which  had  been  occupied  by  Mrs.  Fear. 
"  I  knew  last  night  that  they  had  sent  for  you." 

"You  did?"  he  exclaimed.  "Ah,  I  understand. 
Sam  Warden  must  have  told  you." 

235 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"Yes,"  she  said.  "It  was  he;  and  I  have  been 
wondering  ever  since  how  he  heard  of  it.  He 
knew  last  night,  but  there  was  nothing  in  the 
papers  this  morning;  and  until  I  came  here  I 
heard  no  one  else  speak  of  it;  yet  Canaan  is  not 
large." 

Joe  laughed.  "  It  wouldn't  seem  strange  if 
you  lived  with  the  Canaan  that  I  do.  Sam  had 
been  down-town  during  the  afternoon  and  had  met 
friends;  the  colored  people  are  a  good  deal  like  a 
freemasonry,  you  know.  A  great  many  knew  last 
night  all  about  what  had  happened,  and  had  their 
theories  about  what  might  happen  to-day  in  case 
the  two  men  met.  Still,  you  see,  those  who  knew, 
also  knew  just  what  people  not  to  tell.  The  Tocsin 
is  the  only  newspaper  worth  the  name  here;  but 
even  if  the  Tocsin  had  known  of  the  trouble,  it 
wouldn't  have  been  likely  to  mention  it.  That's 
a  thing  I  don't  understand."  He  frowned  and 
rubbed  the  back  of  his  head.  "  There's  something 
underneath  it.  For  more  than  a  year  the  Tocsin 
hasn't  spoken  of  Beaver  Beach.  I'd  like  to  know 
why." 

"Joe,"  she  said,  slowly,  "tell  me  something 
truly.  A  man  said  to  me  yesterday  that  he  found 
life  here  insufferable.  Do  you  find  it  so?" 

"Why,  no!"  he  answered,  surprised. 

"  Do  you  hate  Canaan  ?" 
236 


HAPPY  FEAR  GIVES  HIMSELF  UP 

"Certainly  not." 

"You  don't  find  it  dull,  provincial,  unsympa 
thetic?" 

He  laughed  cheerily.  "Well,  there's  this,"  he 
explained:  "  I  have  an  advantage  over  your  friend. 
I  see  a  more  interesting  side  of  things  probably. 
The  people  I  live  among  are  pretty  thorough  cos 
mopolites  in  a  way,  and  the  life  I  lead— 

"  I  think  I  begin  to  understand  a  little  about  the 
life  you  lead,"  she  interrupted.  "Then  you  don't 
complain  of  Canaan?" 

"Of  course  not." 

She  threw  him  a  quick,  bright,  happy  look,  then 
glanced  again  at  the  chair  in  which  Mrs.  Fear  had 
sat.  "Joe,"  she  said,  "last  night  I  heard  the  peo 
ple  singing  in  the  houses,  the  old  Sunday-evening 
way.  It  '  took  me  back  so ' !" 

"Yes,  it  would.  And  something  else:  there's 
one  hymn  they  sing  more  than  any  other;  it's  Ca 
naan's  favorite.  Do  you  know  what  it  is?" 

"  Is  it  '  Rescue  the  Perishing'  ?" 

"That's  it.  'Rescue  the  Perishing'!"  he  cried, 
and  repeating  the  words  again,  gave  forth  a  peal 
of  laughter  so  hearty  that  it  brought  tears  to  his 
eyes.  ' '  Rescue  the  Perishing '  /" 

At  first  she  did  not  understand  his  laughter, 
but,  after  a  moment,  she  did,  and  joined  her  own 
to  it,  though  with  a  certain  tremulousness. 

237 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"It  is  funny,  isn't  it?"  said  Joe,  wiping  the 
moisture  from  his  eyes.  Then  all  trace  of  mirth 
left  him.  "  Is  it  really  you,  sitting  here  and  laugh 
ing  with  me,  Ariel?" 

"It  seems  to  be,"  she  answered,  in  a  low  voice. 
"  I'm  not  at  all  sure." 

"You  didn't  think,  yesterday  afternoon,"  he 
began,  almost  in  a  whisper,—  "  you  didn't  think  that 
I  had  failed  to  come  because  I—  He  grew  very 
red,  and  shifted  the  sentence  awkwardly:  "I  was 
afraid  you  might  think  that  I  was — that  I  didn't 
come  because  I  might  have  been  the  same  way 
again  that  I  was  when — when  I  met  you  at  the 
station?" 

"Oh  no!"  she  answered,  gently.  "No.  I  knew 
better." 

"And  do  you  know,"  he  faltered,  "that  that  is 
all  over?  That  it  can  never  happen  again?" 

"Yes,  I  know  it,"  she  returned,  quickly. 

"  Then  you  know  a  little  of  what  I  owe  you." 

"No,  no,"  she  protested. 

"Yes,"  he  said.  "You've  made  that  change  in 
me  already.  It  wasn't  hard — it  won't  be — though 
it  might  have  been  if — if  you  hadn't  come  soon." 

"  Tell  me  something,"  she  demanded.  "  If  these 
people  had  not  sent  for  you  yesterday,  would  you 
have  come  to  Judge  Pike's  house  to  see  me  ?  You 
said  you  would  try."  She  laughed  a  little,  and 

238 


HAPPY  FEAR  GIVES  HIMSELF  UP 

looked  away  from  him.     "I  want  to  know  if  you 
would  have  come." 

There  was  a  silence,  and  in  spite  of  her  averted 
glance  she  knew  that  he  was  looking  at  her  steadily. 
Finally,  "Don't  you  know?"  he  said. 

She  shook  her  head  and  blushed  faintly. 

"Don't  you  know?"  he  repeated. 

She  looked  up  and  met  his  eyes,  and  thereupon 
both  became  very  grave.  "Yes,  I  do,"  she  an 
swered.  "  You  would  have  come.  When  you  left 
me  at  the  gate  and  went  away,  you  were  afraid. 
But  you  would  have  come." 

"Yes,  —  I'd  have  come.  You  are  right:  I  was 
afraid  at  first;  but  I  knew,"  he  went  on,  rapidly, 
"that  you  would  have  come  to  the  gate  to  meet 
me." 

"You  understood  that?"  she  cried,  her  eyes 
sparkling  and  her  face  flushing  happily. 

"Yes.  I  knew  that  you  wouldn't  have  asked 
me  to  come,"  he  said,  with  a  catch  in  his  voice 
which  was  half  chuckle,  half  groan,  "if  you  hadn't 
meant  to  take  care  of  me!  And  it  came  to  me  that 
you  would  know  how  to  do  it." 

She  leaned  back  in  her  chair,  and  again  they 
laughed  together,  but  only  for  a  moment,  becom 
ing  serious  and  very  quiet  almost  instantly. 

"I  haven't  thanked  you  for  the  roses,"  he 
said. 

239 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"Oh  yes,  you  did.  When  you  first  looked  at 
them!" 

"So  I  did,"  he  whispered.  "I'm  glad  you  saw. 
To  find  them  here  took  my  breath  away — and  to 
find  you  with  them— 

"I  brought  them  this  morning,  you  know." 

"Would  you  have  come  if  you  had  not  under 
stood  why  I  failed  yesterday?" 

"Oh  yes,  I  think  so,"  she  returned,  the  fine  edge 
of  a  smile  upon  her  lips.  "  For  a  time  last  evening, 
before  I  heard  what  had  happened,  I  thought 
you  were  too  frightened  a  friend  to  bother 
about." 

He  made  a  little  ejaculation,  partly  joyful,  part 
ly  sad. 

"And  yet,"  she  went  on,  "I  think  that  I  should 
have  come  this  morning,  after  all,  even  if  you  had 
a  poorer  excuse  for  your  absence,  because,  you 
see,  I  came  on  business." 

"You  did?" 

"That's  why  I've  come  again.  That  makes  it 
respectable  for  me  to  be  here  now,  doesn't  it  ? — for 
me  to  have  come  out  alone  after  dark  without  their 
knowing  it?  I'm  here  as  your  client,  Joe." 

"Why?"  he  asked. 

She  did  not  answer  at  once,  but  picked  up  a  pen 
from  beneath  her  hand  on  the  desk,  and  turning  it, 
meditatively  felt  its  point  with  her  forefinger  be- 

240 


HAPPY   FEAR   GIVES   HIMSELF   UP 

fore  she  said  slowly,   "  Are  most  men  careful  of 
other  people's — well,  of  other  people's  money?" 

"You  mean  Martin  Pike?"  he  asked. 

"  Yes.  I  want  you  to  take  charge  of  everything 
I  have  for  me." 

He  bent  a  frowning  regard  upon  the  lamp 
shade.  "You  ought  to  look  after  your  own 
property,"  he  said.  "You  surely,  have  plenty  of 
time." 

"You  mean — you  mean  you  won't  help  me?" 
she  returned,  with  intentional  pathos. 

"Ariel!"  he  laughed,  shortly,  in  answer;  then 
asked,  "What  makes  you  think  Judge  Pike  isn't 
trustworthy?" 

"  Nothing  very  definite  perhaps,  unless  it  was 
his  look  when  I  told  him  that  I  meant  to  ask  you 
to  take  charge  of  things  for  me." 

"He's  been  rather  hard  pressed  this  year,  I 
think,"  said  Joe.  "You  might  be  right  —  if  he 
could  have  found  a  way.  I  hope  he  hasn't." 

"I'm  afraid,"  she  began,  gayly,  "that  I  know 
very  little  of  my  own  affairs.  He  sent  me  a  draft 
every  three  months,  with  receipts  and  other  things 
to  sign  and  return  to  him.  I  haven't  the  faintest 
notion  of  what  I  own — except  the  old  house  and 
some  money  from  the  income  that  I  hadn't  used 
and  brought  with  me.  Judge  Pike  has  all  the 
papers — everything. ' ' 

241 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

Joe  looked  troubled.  "And  Roger  Tabor,  did 
he—" 

"The  dear  man!"  She  shook  her  head.  "He 
was  just  the  same.  To  him  poor  Uncle  Jonas's 
money  seemed  to  come  from  heaven  through  the 
hands  of  Judge  Pike — 

"And  there's  a  handsome  roundabout  way!" 
said  Joe. 

"Wasn't  it!"  she  agreed,  cheerfully.  "And  he 
trusted  the  Judge  absolutely.  I  don't,  you  see." 

He  gave  her  a  thoughtful  look  and  nodded. 
"No,  he  isn't  a  good  man,"  he  said,  "not  even  ac 
cording  to  his  lights ;  but  I  doubt  if  he  could  have 
managed  to  get  away  with  anything  of  conse 
quence  after  he  became  the  administrator.  He 
wouldn't  have  tried  it,  probably,  unless  he  was 
more  desperately  pushed  than  I  think  he  has  been. 
It  would  have  been  too  dangerous.  Suppose  you 
wait  a  week  or  so  and  think  it  over." 

"  But  there's  something  I  want  you  to  do  for  me 
immediately,  Joe." 

"What's  that?" 

"I  want  the  old  house  put  in  order.  I'm  going 
to  live  there." 

"Alone?" 

"I'm  almost  twenty-seven,  and  that's  being 
enough  of  an  old  maid  for  me  to  risk  Canaan's 
thinking  me  eccentric,  isn't  it?" 

242 


HAPPY  FEAR  GIVES  HIMSELF  UP 

"It  will  think  anything  you  do  is  all  right." 

"And  once,"  she  cried,  "it  thought  everything 
I  did  all  wrong!" 

"Yes.     That's  the  difference." 

"You  mean  it  will  commend  me  because  I'm 
thought  rich?" 

"No,  no,"  he  said,  meditatively,  "it  isn't  that. 
It's  because  everybody  will  be  in  love  with 
you." 

"Quite  everybody!"  she  asked. 

"Certainly,"  he  replied.  "Anybody  who  didn't 
would  be  absurd." 

"Ah,  Joe!"  she  laughed.  "You  always  were  the 
nicest  boy  in  the  world,  my  dear!" 

At  that  he  turned  toward  her  with  a  sudden 
movement  and  his  lips  parted,  but  not  to  speak. 
She  had  rested  one  arm  upon  the  desk,  and  her 
cheek  upon  her  hand;  the  pen  she  had  picked  up, 
still  absently  held  in  her  fingers,  touching  her  lips ; 
and  it  was  given  to  him  to  know  that  he  would 
always  keep  that  pen,  though  he  would  never 
write  with  it  again.  The  soft  lamplight  fell  across 
the  lower  part  of  her  face,  leaving  her  eyes,  which 
were  lowered  thoughtfully,  in  the  shadow  of  her 
hat.  The  room  was  blotted  out  in  darkness  behind 
her.  Like  the  background  of  an  antique  portrait, 
the  office,  with  its  dusty  corners  and  shelves  and 
hideous  safe,  had  vanished,  leaving  the  charming 

243 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

and  thoughtful  face  revealed  against  an  even, 
spacious  brownness.  Only  Ariel  and  the  roses  and 
the  lamp  were  clear;  and  a  strange,  small  pain 
moved  from  Joe's  heart  to  his  throat,  as  he  thought 
that  this  ugly  office,  always  before  so  harsh  and 
grim  and  lonely  —  loneliest  for  him  when  it  had 
been  most  crowded,  —  was  now  transfigured  into 
something  very,  very  different  from  an  office;  that 
this  place  where  he  sat,  with  a  lamp  and  flowers 
on  a  desk  between  him  and  a  woman  who  called 
him  "my  dear,"  must  be  like — like  something  that 
people  called  "home." 

And  then  he  leaned  across  the  desk  toward  her, 
as  he  said  again  what  he  had  said  a  little  while 
before, — and  his  voice  trembled: 

"Ariel,  it  is  you?" 

She  looked  at  him  and  smiled. 

"  You'll  be  here  always,  won't  you  ?  You're  not 
going  away  from  Canaan  again?" 

For  a  moment  it  seemed  that  she  had  not  heard 
him.  Then  her  bright  glance  at  him  wavered  and 
fell.  She  rose,  turning  slightly  away  from  him, 
but  not  so  far  that  he  could  not  see  the  sudden 
agitation  in  her  face. 

"Ah!"  he  cried,  rising  too,  "I  don't  want  you  to 
think  I  don't  understand,  or  that  I  meant  /  should 
ever  ask  you  to  stay  here!  I  couldn't  mean  that; 
you  know  I  couldn't,  don't  you?  You  know  I 

244 


HAPPY   FEAR  GIVES   HIMSELF   UP 

understand  that  it's  all  just  your  beautiful  friend 
liness,  don't  you?" 

"It  isn't  beautiful;  it's  just  me,  Joe,"  she  said. 
"  It  couldn't  be  any  other  way." 

"It's  enough  that  you  should  be  here  now,"  he 
went  on,  bravely,  his  voice  steady,  though  his  hand 
shook.  "Nothing  so  wonderful  as  your  staying 
could  ever  actually  happen.  It's  just  a  light 
coming  into  a  dark  room  and  out  again.  One  day, 
long  ago — I  never  forgot  it — some  apple-blossoms 
blew  by  me  as  I  passed  an  orchard ;  and  it's 
like  that,  too.  But,  oh,  my  dear,  when  you  go 
you'll  leave  a  fragrance  in  my  heart  that  will 
last!" 

She  turned  toward  him,  her  face  suffused  with 
a  rosy  light.  "  You'd  rather  have  died  than  have 
said  that  to  me  once,"  she  cried.  "  I'm  glad  you're 
weak  enough  now  to  confess  it!" 

He  sank  down  again  into  his  chair  and  his  arms 
fell  heavily  on  the  desk.  "Confess  it!"  he  cried, 
despairingly.  "And  you  don't  deny  that  you're 
going  away  again — so  it's  true!  I  wish  I  hadn't 
realized  it  so  soon.  I  think  I'd  rather  have  tried 
to  fool  myself  about  it  a  little  longer!" 

"Joe,"  she  cried,  in  a  voice  of  great  pain,  "you 
mustn't  feel  like  that!  How  do  you  know  I'm 
going  away  again?  Why  should  I  want  the  old 
house  put  in  order  unless  I  mean  to  stay?  And  if 

245 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

I  went,  you  know  that  I  could  never  change;  you 
know  how  I've  always  cared  for  you — " 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  do  know  how.  It  was  always 
the  same  and  it  always  will  be,  won't  it?" 

"I've  shown  that,"  she  returned,  quickly. 

"Yes.  You  say  I  know  how  you've  cared  for 
me — and  I  do.  I  know  how.  It's  just  in  one  cer 
tain  way — Jonathan  and  David — " 

"Isn't  that  a  pretty  good  way,  Joe?" 

"Never  fear  that  I  don't  understand!"  He  got 
to  his  feet  again  and  looked  at  her  steadily. 

"Thank  you,  Joe."  She  wiped  sudden  tears 
from  her  eyes. 

"Don't  you  be  sorry  for  me,"  he  said.  "Do 
you  think  that  'passing  the  love  of  women'  isn't 
enough  for  me?" 

"No,"  she  answered,  humbly. 

"I'll  have  people  at  work  on  the  old  house  to 
morrow,"  he  began.  "And  for  the— 

"I've  kept  you  so  long!"  she  interrupted,  helped 
to  a  meek  sort  of  gayety  by  his  matter-of-fact  tone. 
"Good-night,  Joe."  She  gave  him  her  hand.  "I 
don't  want  you  to  come  with  me.  It  isn't  very 
late  and  this  is  Canaan." 

"I  want  to  come  with  you,  however,"  he  said, 
picking  up  his  hat.  "You  can't  go  alone." 

"But  you  are  so  tired,  you— 

She  was  interrupted.  There  were  muffled,  fly- 
246 


QUtf.  /  .''  " 


HAPPY   FEAR   GIVES   HIMSELF   UP 

ing  footsteps  on  the  stairs,  and  a  shabby  little  man 
ran  furtively  into  the  room,  shut  the  door  behind 
him,  and  set  his  back  against  it.  His  face  was 
mottled  like  a  colored  map,  thick  lines  of  per 
spiration  shining  across  the  splotches. 

"Joe,"  he  panted,  "I've  got  Nashville  good,  and 
he's  got  me  good,  too; — I  got  to  clear  out.  He's 
fixed  me  good,  damn  him!  but  he  won't  trouble 
nobody- 
Joe  was  across  the  room  like  a  flying  shadow. 

"Quiet!"  His  voice  rang  like  a  shot,  and  on  the 
instant  his  hand  fell  sharply  across  the  speaker's 
mouth.  "In  there,  Happy!" 

He  threw  an  arm  across  the  little  man's  shoulders 
and  swung  him  toward  the  door  of  the  other  room. 

Happy  Fear  looked  up  from  beneath  the  down- 
bent  brim  of  his  black  slouch  hat ;  his  eyes  followed 
an  imperious  gesture  toward  Ariel,  gave  her  a 
brief,  ghastly  stare,  and  stumbled  into  the  inner 
chamber. 

"Wait!"  Joe  said,  cavalierly,  to  Ariel.  He  went 
in  quickly  after  Mr.  Fear  and  closed  the  door. 

This  was  Joseph  Louden,  Attorney-at-Law ;  and 
to  Ariel  it  was  like  a  new  face  seen  in  a  flash-light 
—not  at  all  the  face  of  Joe.  The  sense  of  his 
strangeness,  his  unfamiliarity  in  this  electrical 
aspect,  overcame  her.  She  was  possessed  by 
astonishment:  Did  she  know  him  so  well,  after 
17  247 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

all?  The  strange  client  had  burst  in,  shaken  be 
yond  belief  with  some  passion  unknown  to  her, 
but  Joe,  alert,  and  masterful  beyond  denial,  had 
controlled  him  instantly;  had  swept  him  into  the 
other  room  as  with  a  broom.  Could  it  be  that 
Joe  sometimes  did  other  things  in  the  same  sweep 
ing  fashion? 

She  heard  a  match  struck  in  the  next  room,  and 
the  voices  of  the  two  men:  Joe's,  then  the  other's, 
the  latter  at  first  broken  and  protestive,  but  soon 
rising  shrilly.  She  could  hear  only  fragments. 
Once  she  heard  the  client  cry,  almost  scream: 
"By  God!  Joe,  I  thought  Claudine  had  chased  him 
around  there  to  do  me!"  And,  instantly,  followed 
Louden's  voice: 

"Steady,  Happy,  steady!" 

The  name  "Claudine"  startled  her;  and  although 
she  had  had  no  comprehension  of  the  argot  of 
Happy  Fear,  the  sense  of  a  mysterious  catastrophe 
oppressed  her;  she  was  sure  that  something  hor 
rible  had  happened.  She  went  to  the  window; 
touched  the  shade,  which  disappeared  upward 
immediately,  and  lifted  the  sash.  The  front  of  a 
square  building  in  the  Court  -  house  Square  was 
bright  with  lights ;  and  figures  were  passing  in  and 
out  of  the  Main  Street  doors.  She  remembered 
that  this  was  the  jail. 

"Claudine!"  The  voice  of  the  husband  of 
248 


HAPPY   FEAR  GIVES   HIMSELF  UP 

Claudine  was  like  the  voice  of  one  lamenting  over 
Jerusalem. 

"Steady,  Happy,  steady!" 

"  But,  Joe,  if  they  git  me,  what  '11  she  do?  She 
can't  hold  her  job  no  longer — not  after  this.  ..." 

The  door  opened,  and  the  two  men  came  out, 
Joe  with  his  hand  on  the  other's  shoulder.  The 
splotches  had  gone  from  Happy's  face,  leaving  it 
an  even,  deathly  white.  He  did  not  glance  tow 
ard  Ariel;  he  gazed  far  beyond  all  that  was  about 
him;  and  suddenly  she  was  aware  of  a  great  trag 
edy.  The  little  man's  chin  trembled  and  he  swal 
lowed  painfully;  nevertheless  he  bore  himself  up 
right  and  dauntlessly  as  the  two  walked  slowly  to 
the  door,  like  men  taking  part  in  some  fateful 
ceremony.  Joe  stopped  upon  the  landing  at  the 
head  of  the  stairs,  but  Happy  Fear  went  on,  clump 
ing  heavily  down  the  steps. 

"It's  all  right,  Happy,"  said  Joe.  "It's  better 
for  you  to  go  alone.  Don't  you  worry.  I'll  see 
you  through.  It  will  be  all  right." 

"Just  as  you  say,  Joe,"  a  breaking  voice  came 
back  from  the  foot  of  the  steps, — "  just  as  you  say!" 

The  lawyer  turned  from  the  landing  and  went 
rapidly  to  the  window  beside  Ariel.  Together  they 
watched  the  shabby  little  figure  cross  the  street 
below;  and  she  felt  an  infinite  pathos  gathering 
about  it  as  it  paused  for  a  moment,  hesitating, 

249 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

underneath  the  arc -lamp  at  the  corner.  They  saw 
the  white  face  lifted  as  Happy  Fear  gave  one  last 
look  about  him ;  then  he  set  his  shoulders  sturdily, 
and  steadfastly  entered  the  door  of  the  jail. 

Joe  took  a  deep  breath.  "Now  we'll  go,"  he 
said.  "I  must  be  quick." 

"What  was  it?"  she  asked,  tremulously,  as  they 
reached  the  street.  "Can  you  tell  me?" 

"Nothing — just  an  old  story." 

He  had  not  offered  her  his  arm,  but  walked  on 
hurriedly,  a  pace  ahead  of  her,  though  she  came 
as  rapidly  as  she  could.  She  put  her  hand  rather 
timidly  on  his  sleeve,  and  without  need  of  more 
words  from  her  he  understood  her  insistence. 

"  That  was  the  husband  of  the  woman  who  told 
you  her  story,"  he  said.  "Perhaps  it  would  shock 
you  less  if  I  tell  you  now  than  if  you  heard  it  to 
morrow,  as  you  will.  He's  just  shot  the  other 
man." 

"Killed  him!"  she  gasped. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered.  "  He  wanted  to  run  away, 
but  I  wouldn't  let  him.  He  has  my  word  that 
I'll  clear  him,  and  I  made  him  give  himself  up." 


XVI 


THE    TWO    CANAANS 

[SgHEN  Joe  left  Ariel  at  Judge  Pike's 
Igate  she  lingered  there,  her  elbows 
upon  the  uppermost  cross-bar,  like 
a  village  girl  at  twilight,  watching 
'his  thin  figure  vanish  into  the  heavy 
shadow  of  the  maples,  then  emerge  momentarily, 
ghost -gray  and  rapid,  at  the  lighted  crossing  down 
the  street,  to  disappear  again  under  the  trees  be 
yond,  followed  a  second  later  by  a  brownish  streak 
as  the  mongrel  heeled  after  him.  When  they  had 
passed  the  second  corner  she  could  no  longer  be 
certain  of  them,  although  the  street  was  straight, 
with  flat,  draughtsmanlike  Western  directness: 
both  figures  and  Joe's  quick  footsteps  merging 
with  the  night.  Still  she  did  not  turn  to  go;  did 
not  alter  her  position,  nor  cease  to  gaze  down  the 
dim  street.  Few  lights  shone ;  almost  all  the  win 
dows  of  the  houses  were  darkened,  and,  save  for 
the  summer  murmurs,  the  faint  creak  of  upper 
branches,  and  the  infinitesimal  voices  of  insects  in 

251 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

the  grass,  there  was  silence:  the  pleasant  and  som 
nolent  hush,  swathed  in  which  that  part  of  Canaan 
crosses  to  the  far  side  of  the  eleventh  hour. 

But  Ariel,  not  soothed  by  this  balm,  sought  be 
yond  it,  to  see  that  unquiet  Canaan  whither  her 
old  friend  bent  his  steps  and  found  his  labor  and 
his  dwelling:  that  other  Canaan  where  peace  did 
not  fall  comfortably  with  the  coming  of  night;  a 
place  as  alien  in  habit,  in  thought,  and  almost  in 
speech  as  if  it  had  been  upon  another  continent. 
And  yet— so  strange  is  the  duality  of  towns — it  lay 
but  a  few  blocks  distant. 

Here,  about  Ariel,  as  she  stood  at  the  gate  of  the 
Pike  Mansion,  the  houses  of  the  good  (secure  of 
salvation  and  daily  bread)  were  closed  and  quiet, 
as  safely  shut  and  sound  asleep  as  the  churches; 
but  deeper  in  the  town  there  was  light  and  life 
and  merry,  evil  industry, — screened,  but  strong  to 
last  until  morning;  there  were  haunts  of  haggard 
merriment  in  plenty :  surreptitious  chambers  where 
roulette  -  wheels  swam  beneath  dizzied  eyes ;  ill- 
favored  bars,  reached  by  devious  ways,  where 
quavering  voices  offered  song  and  were  harshly 
checked;  and  through  the  burdened  air  of  this 
Canaan  wandered  heavy  smells  of  musk  like  that 
upon  Happy  Fear's  wife,  who  must  now  be  so  pale 
beneath  her  rouge.  And  above  all  this,  and  for 
all  this,  and  because  of  all  this,  was  that  one  re- 

252 


THE   TWO   CANAANS 

sort  to  which  Joe  now  made  his  way;  that  haven 
whose  lights  burn  all  night  long,  whose  doors  are 
never  closed,  but  are  open  from  dawn  until  dawn 
—the  jail. 

There,  in  that  desolate  refuge,  lay  Happy  Fear, 
surrendered  sturdily  by  himself  at  Joe's  word. 
The  picture  of  the  little  man  was  clear  and  fresh 
in  Ariel's  eyes,  and  though  she  had  seen  him  when 
he  was  newly  come  from  a  thing  so  terrible  that 
she  could  not  realize  it  as  a  fact,  she  felt  only  an 
overwhelming  pity  for  him.  She  was  not  even 
horror-stricken,  though  she  had  shuddered.  The 
pathos  of  the  shabby  little  figure  crossing  the  street 
toward  the  lighted  doors  had  touched  her.  Some 
thing  about  him  had  appealed  to  her,  for  he  had 
not  seemed  wicked ;  his  face  was  not  cruel,  though 
it  was  desperate.  Perhaps  it  was  partly  his  very 
desperation  which  had  moved  her.  She  had  un 
derstood  Joe,  when  he  told  her,  that  this  man  was 
his  friend;  and  comprehended  his  great  fear  when 
he  said:  "  I've  got  to  clear  him!  I  promised  him." 
Over  and  over  Joe  had  reiterated:  "I've  got  to 
save  him !  I've  got  to !"  She  had  answered 
gently,  "Yes,  Joe,"  hurrying  to  keep  up  with  him. 
"He's  a  good  man,"  he  said.  "I've  known  few 
better,  given  his  chances.  And  none  of  this  would 
have  happened  except  for  his  old-time  friendship 
for  me.  It  was  his  loyalty — oh,  the  rarest  and 

253 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

absurdest  loyalty ! — that  made  the  first  trouble  be 
tween  him  and  the  man  he  shot.  I've  got  to  clear 
him!" 

"Will  it  be  hard?" 

"  They  may  make  it  so.  I  can  only  see  part  of 
it  surely.  When  his  wife  left  the  office,  she  met 
Cory  on  the  street.  You  saw  what  a  pitiful  kind  of 
fool  she  was,  irresponsible  and  helpless  and  feather 
brained.  There  are  thousands  of  women  like  that 
everywhere — some  of  them  are  'Court  Beauties,' 
I  dare  say — and  they  always  mix  things  up;  but 
they  are  most  dangerous  when  they're  like  Clau- 
dine,  because  then  they  live  among  men  of  action 
like  Cory  and  Fear.  Cory  was  artful :  he  spent  the 
day  about  town  telling  people  that  he  had  always 
liked  Happy;  that  his  ill  feeling  of  yesterday  was 
all  gone ;  he  wanted  to  find  him  and  shake  his  hand, 
bury  past  troubles  and  be  friends.  I  think  he 
told  Claudine  the  same  thing  when  they  met,  and 
convinced  the  tiny  brainlet  of  his  sincerity.  Cory 
was  a  man  who  'had  a  way  with  him,'  and  I  can 
see  Claudine  flattered  at  the  idea  of  being  peace 
maker  between  'two  such  nice  gen'lemen  as  Mr. 
Cory  and  Mr.  Fear. '  Her  commonest  asseveration — 
quite  genuine,  too — is  that  she  doesn't  like  to  have 
the  gen'lemen  making  trouble  about  her!  So  the 
poor  imbecile  led  him  to  where  her  husband  was 
waiting.  All  that  Happy  knew  of  this  was  in  her 

254 


THE   TWO   CANAANS 

cry  afterwards.  He  was  sitting  alone,  when  Cory 
threw  open  the  door  and  said,  'I've  got  you  this 
time,  Happy!'  His  pistol  was  raised  but  never 
fired.  He  waited  too  long,  meaning  to  establish 
his  case  of  '  self-defence,'  and  Fear  is  the  quickest 
man  I  know.  Cory  fell  just  inside  the  door.  Clau- 
dine  stumbled  upon  him  as  she  came  running  after 
him,  crying  out  to  her  husband  that  she  'never 
meant  no  trouble,'  that  Cory  had  sworn  to  her  that 
he  only  wanted  to  shake  hands  and  'make  up.' 
Other  people  heard  the  shot  and  broke  into  the 
room,  but  they  did  not  try  to  stop  Fear;  he  warned 
them  off  and  walked  out  without  hindrance,  and 
came  to  me.  I've  got  to  clear  him." 

Ariel  knew  what  he  meant:  she  realized  the 
actual  thing  as  it  was,  and,  though  possessed  by  a 
strange  feeling  that  it  must  all  be  medieval  and 
not  possibly  of  to-day,  understood  that  he  would 
have  to  fight  to  keep  his  friend  from  being  killed; 
that  the  unhappy  creature  who  had  run  into  the 
office  out  of  the  dark  stood  in  high  danger  of  hav 
ing  his  neck  broken,  unless  Joe  could  help  him. 
He  made  it  clear  to  her  that  the  State  would  kill 
Happy  if  it  could ;  that  it  would  be  a  point  of  pride 
with  certain  deliberate  men  holding  office  to  take 
the  life  of  the  little  man ;  that  if  they  did  secure  his 
death  it  would  be  set  down  to  their  efficiency,  and 
was  even  competent  as  campaign  material.  "  I 

255 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

wish  to  point  out,"  Joe  had  heard  a  candidate  for 
re-election  vehemently  orate,  "that  in  addition  to 
the  other  successful  convictions  I  have  named,  I 
and  my  assistants  have  achieved  the  sending  of 
three  men  to  the  gallows  during  my  term  of  office!" 

"I  can't  tell  yet,"  said  Joe,  at  parting.  "It 
may  be  hard.  I'm  so  sorry  you  saw  all  this. 
I—" 

"Oh  no!"  she  cried.     "  I  want  to  understand!" 

She  was  still  there,  at  the  gate,  her  elbows  rest 
ing  upon  the  cross-bar,  when,  a  long  time  after  Joe 
had  gone,  there  came  from  the  alley  behind  the 
big  back  yard  the  minor  chordings  of  a  quartette 
of  those  dark  strollers  who  never  seem  to  go  to 
bed,  who  play  by  night  and  playfully  pretend  to 
work  by  day: 

"  You  know  my  soul  is  a-full  o'  them-a-trub-bils, 

Ev-ry  mawn! 
I  cain'  a-walk  withouten  I  stum-bils! 

Then  le'ss  go  on — 

Keep  walkin'  on! 
These  times  is  sow'owful,  an'  I  am  pow'owful 

Sick  an'  fo'lawn!" 

She  heard  a  step  upon  the  path  behind  her,  and, 
turning,  saw  a  white-wrapped  figure  coming  tow 
ard  her. 

"Mamie?"  she  called. 

256 


THE  TWO   CANAANS 

"Hush!"  Mamie  lifted  a  warning  hand.  "The 
windows  are  open,"  she  whispered.  "They  might 
hear  you!" 

"  Why  haven't  you  gone  to  bed  ?" 

"Oh,  don't  you  see?"  Mamie  answered,  in  deep 
distress, — "  I've  been  sitting  up  for  you.  We  all 
thought  you  were  writing  letters  in  your  room, 
but  after  papa  and  mamma  had  gone  to  bed  I 
went  in  to  tell  you  good  night,  and  you  weren't 
there,  nor  anywhere  else ;  so  I  knew  you  must  have 
gone  out.  I've  been  sitting  by  the  front  window, 
waiting  to  let  you  in,  but  I  went  to  sleep  until  a 
little  while  ago,  when  the  telephone-bell  rang  and 
he  got  up  and  answered  it.  He  kept  talking  a  long 
time;  it  was  something  about  the  Tocsin,  and  I'm 
afraid  there's  been  a  murder  down-town.  When 
he  went  back  to  bed  I  fell  asleep  again,  and  then 
those  darkies  woke  me  up.  How  on  earth  did 
you  expect  to  get  in  ?  Don't  you  know  he  always 
locks  up  the  house?" 

"I  could  have  rung,"  said  Ariel. 

"Oh — oh!"  gasped  Miss  Pike;  and,  after  she  had 
recovered  somewhat,  asked:  "Do  you  mind  telling 
me  where  you've  been?  I  won't  tell  him — nor 
mamma,  either.  I  think,  after  all,  I  was  wrong 
yesterday  to  follow  Eugene's  advice.  He  meant 
for  the  best,  but  I — " 

"  Don't  think  that.  You  weren't  wrong."  Ariel 
257 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

put  her  arm  round  the  other's  waist.  "  I  went  to 
talk  over  some  things  with  Mr.  Louden." 

"I  think,"  whispered  Mamie,  trembling,  "that 
you  are  the  bravest  girl  I  ever  knew — and — and — I 
could  almost  believe  there's  some  good  in  him, 
since  you  like  him  so.  I  know  there  is.  And  I — I 
think  he's  had  a  hard  time.  I  want  you  to  know 
I  won't  even  tell  Eugene!" 

"You  can  tell  everybody  in  the  world,"  said 
Ariel,  and  kissed  her. 


XVII 

MR.  SHEEHAN'S  HINTS 

[EVER,"  said  the  Tocsin  on  the  mor 
row,  "  has  this  community  been  stirred 
to  deeper  indignation  than  by  the 
cold-blooded  and  unmitigated  bru 
tality  of  the  deliberate  murder  com 
mitted  almost  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  Court 
house  cupola  last  night.  The  victim  was  not  a 
man  of  good  repute,  it  is  true,  but  at  the  moment 
of  his  death  he  was  in  the  act  of  performing  a  noble 
and  generous  action  which  showed  that  he  might 
have  become,  if  he  lived,  a  good  and  law-fearing 
citizen.  In  brief,  he  went  to  forgive  his  enemy 
and  was  stretching  forth  the  hand  of  fellowship 
when  that  enemy  shot  him  down.  Not  half  an 
hour  before  his  death,  Cory  had  repeated  within 
the  hearing  of  a  dozen  men  what  he  had  been  say 
ing  all  day,  as  many  can  testify:  'I  want  to  find 
my  old  friend  Fear  and  shake  hands  with  him.  I 
want  to  tell  him  that  I  forgive  him  and  that  I  am 
ashamed  of  whatever  has  been  my  part  in  the 

259 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

trouble  between  us.'  He  went  with  that  intention 
to  his  death.  The  wife  of  the  murderer  has  con 
fessed  that  this  was  the  substance  of  what  he  said 
to  her,  and  that  she  was  convinced  of  his  peaceful 
intentions.  When  they  reached  the  room  where 
her  husband  was  waiting  for  her,  Cory  entered 
first.  The  woman  claims  now  that  as  they  neared 
the  vicinity  he  hastened  forward  at  a  pace  which 
she  could  not  equal.  Naturally,  her  testimony  on 
all  points  favoring  her  husband  is  practically  worth 
less.  She  followed  and  heard  the  murdered  man 
speak,  though  what  his  words  were  she  declares 
she  does  not  know,  and  of  course  the  murderer, 
after  consultation  with  his  lawyer,  claims  that  their 
nature  was  threatening.  Such  a  statement,  in  de« 
termining  the  truth,  is  worse  than  valueless.  It  is 
known  and  readily  proved  that  Fear  repeatedly 
threatened  the  deceased's  life  yesterday,  and  there 
is  no  question  in  the  mind  of  any  man,  woman,  or 
child,  who  reads  these  words,  of  the  cold-blooded 
nature  of  the  crime.  The  slayer,  who  had  formerly 
made  a  murderous  attack  upon  his  victim,  lately 
quarrelled  with  him  and  uttered  threats,  as  we 
have  stated,  upon  his  life.  The  dead  man  came 
to  him  with  protestations  of  friendship  and  was 
struck  down  a  corpse.  It  is  understood  that  the 
defence  will  in  desperation  set  up  the  theory  of 
self-defence,  based  on  an  unsubstantiated  claim  that 

260 


MR.   SHEEHAN'S  HINTS 

Cory  entered  the  room  with  a  drawn  pistol.  No 
pistol  was  found  in  the  room.  The  weapon  with 
which  the  deed  was  accomplished  was  found  upon 
the  person  of  the  murderer  when  he  was  seized  by 
the  police,  one  chamber  discharged.  Another  re 
volver  was  discovered  upon  the  person  of  the 
woman,  when  she  was  arrested  on  the  scene  of  the 
crime.  This,  upon  being  strictly  interrogated,  she 
said  she  had  picked  up  from  the  floor  in  the  con 
fusion,  thinking  it  was  her  husband's  and  hoping 
to  conceal  it.  The  chambers  were  full  and  undis 
charged,  and  we  have  heard  it  surmised  that  the 
defence  means  to  claim  that  it  was  Cory's.  Cory 
doubtless  went  on  his  errand  of  forgiveness  un 
armed,  and  beyond  doubt  the  second  weapon  be 
longed  to  the  woman  herself,  who  has  an  unenvi 
able  record. 

"The  point  of  it  all  is  plainly  this:  here  is  an  un 
questionable  murder  in  the  first  degree,  and  the 
people  of  this  city  and  county  are  outraged  and 
incensed  that  such  a  crime  should  have  been  com 
mitted  in  their  law-abiding  and  respectable  com 
munity.  With  whom  does  the  fault  lie?  On 
whose  head  is  this  murder?  Not  with  the  au 
thorities,  for  they  do  not  countenance  crime.  Has 
it  come  to  the  pass  that,  counting  on  juggleries  of 
the  law,  criminals  believe  that  they  may  kill, 
maim,  burn,  and  slay  as  they  list  without  punish- 

261 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

ment  ?  Is  this  to  be  another  instance  of  the  law's 
delays  and  immunity  for  a  hideous  crime,  com 
passed  by  a  cunning  and  cynical  trickster  of  legal 
technicalities?  The  people  of  Canaan  cry  out  for 
a  speedy  trial,  speedy  conviction,  and  speedy  pun 
ishment  of  this  cold-blooded  and  murderous  mon 
ster.  If  he  is  not  dealt  with  quickly  according 
to  his  deserts,  the  climax  is  upon  us  and  the  limit 
of  Canaan's  patience  has  been  reached. 

"One  last  word,  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  have 
its  significance  noted:  J.  Louden,  Esq.,  has  been 
retained  for  the  defence!  The  murderer,  before 
being  apprehended  by  the  authorities,  went  straight 
from  the  scene  of  his  crime  to  place  his  retainer 
in  his  attorney's  pocket!  How  LONG  is  THIS  TO 
LAST?" 

The  Tocsin  was  quoted  on  street  corners  that 
morning,  in  shop  and  store  and  office,  wherever 
people  talked  of  the  Cory  murder;  and  that  was 
everywhere,  for  the  people  of  Canaan  and  of  the 
country  roundabout  talked  of  nothing  else.  Wom 
en  chattered  of  it  in  parlor  and  kitchen ;  men  gath 
ered  in  small  groups  on  the  street  and  shook  their 
heads  ominously  over  it;  farmers,  meeting  on  the 
road,  halted  their  teams  and  loudly  damned  the 
little  man  in  the  Canaan  jail ;  milkmen  lingered  on 
back  porches  over  their  cans  to  agree  with  cooks 

262 


MR.   SHEEHAN'S   HINTS 

that  it  was  an  awful  thing,  and  that  if  ever  any 
man  deserved  hanging,  that  there  Fear  deserved  it 
—his  lawyer  along  with  him!  Tipsy  men  ham 
mered  bars  with  fists  and  beer-glasses,  inquiring 
if  there  was  no  rope  to  be  had  in  the  town;  and 
Joe  Louden,  returning  to  his  office  from  the  little 
restaurant  where  he  sometimes  ate  his  breakfast, 
heard  hisses  following  him  along  Main  Street.  A 
clerk,  a  fat -shouldered,  blue -aproned,  pimple- 
cheeked  youth,  stood  in  the  open  doors  of  a  grocery, 
and  as  he  passed,  stared  him  in  the  face  and  said 
"Yah!"  with  supreme  disgust. 

Joe  stopped.     "Why?"  he  asked,  mildly. 

The  clerk  put  two  fingers  in  his  mouth  and 
whistled  shrilly  in  derision.  "You'd  ort  to  be 
run  out  o'  town!"  he  exclaimed. 

"I  believe,"  said  Joe,  "that  we  have  never  met 
before." 

"Go  on,  you  shyster!" 

Joe  looked  at  him  gravely.  "My  dear  sir,"  he 
returned,  "you  speak  to  me  with  the  familiarity 
of  an  old  friend." 

The  clerk  did  not  recover  so  far  as  to  be  capable 
of  repartee  until  Joe  had  entered  his  own  stairway. 
Then,  with  a  bitter  sneer,  he  seized  a  bad  potato 
from  an  open  barrel  and  threw  it  at  the  mongrel, 
who  had  paused  to  examine  the  landscape.  The 
missile  failed,  and  Respectability,  after  bestowing  a 
18  263 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

slightly  injured  look  upon  the  clerk,  followed  his 
master. 

In  the  office  the  red-bearded  man  sat  waiting. 
Not  so  red-bearded  as  of  yore,  however,  was  Mr. 
Sheehan,  but  grizzled  and  gray,  and,  this  morning, 
gray  of  face,  too,  as  he  sat,  perspiring  and  anxious, 
wiping  a  troubled  brow  with  a  black  silk  handker 
chief. 

"Here's  the  devil  and  all  to  pay  at  last,  Joe," 
he  said,  uneasily,  on  the  other's  entrance.  "This 
is  the  worst  I  ever  knew ;  and  I  hate  to  say  it,  but  I 
doubt  yer  pullin'  it  off." 

"I've  got  to,  Mike." 

"I  hope  on  my  soul  there's  a  chanst  of  it!  1 
like  the  little  man,  Joe." 

"So  do  I." 

"  I  know  ye  do,  my  boy.  But  here's  this  Tocsin 
kickin'  up  the  public  sentiment;  and  if  there  ever 
was  a  follerin'  sheep  on  earth,  it's  that  same  public 
sentiment!" 

"If  it  weren't  for  that" — Joe  flung  himself 
heavily  in  a  chair — "there'd  not  be  so  much 
trouble.  It's  a  clear  enough  case." 

"But  don't  ye  see,"  interrupted  Sheehan,  "the 
Tocsin's  tried  it  and  convicted  him  aforehand? 
And  that  if  things  keep  goin'  the  way  they've 
started  to  -  day,  the  gran'  jury's  bound  to  indict 
him,  and  the  trial  jury  to  convict  him?  They 

264 


MR.   SHEEHAN'S   HINTS 

wouldn't  dare  not  to!  What's  more,  they'll  want 
to!  And  they'll  rush  the  trial,  summer  or  no 
summer,  and — 

"  I  know,  I  know." 

"  I'll  tell  ye  one  thing,"  said  the  other,  wiping  his 
forehead  with  the  black  handkerchief,  "  and  that's 
this,  my  boy:  last  night's  business  has  just  about 
put  the  cap  on  the  Beach  fer  me.  I'm  sick  of  it 
and  I'm  tired  of  it!  I'm  ready  to  quit,  sir!" 

Joe  looked  at  him  sharply.  "  Don't  you  think 
my  old  notion  of  what  might  be  done  could  be 
made  to  pay?" 

Sheehan  laughed.  "  Whoo!  You  and  yer  hints, 
Joe!  How  long  past  have  ye  come  around  me 
with  'em!  'I  b'lieve  ye  c'd  make  more  money, 
Mike' — that's  the  way  ye'd  put  it, — 'if  ye  altered 
the  Beach  a  bit.  Make  a  little  country-side  res 
taurant  of  it,'  ye'd  say,  'and  have  good  cookin', 
and  keep  the  boys  and  girls  from  raisin'  so  much 
hell  out  there.  Soon  ye'd  have  other  people 
comin'  beside  the  regular  crowd.  Make  a  little 
garden  on  the  shore,  and  let  'em  eat  at  tables 
under  trees  an'  grape-arbors — 

"Well,  why  not?"  asked  Joe. 

"Haven't  I  been  tellin'  ye  I'm  thinkin'  of  it? 
It's  only  yer  way  of  hintin' that's  funny  to  me, — yer 
way  of  sayin'  I'd  make  more  money,  because  ye 're 
afraid  of  preachin'  at  any  of  us:  partly  because  ye 

265 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

know  the  little  good  it  'd  be,  and  partly  because 
ye  have  humor.  Well,  I'm  thinkin'  ye'll  git  yer 
way.  I'm  willin'  to  go  into  the  missionary  busi 
ness  with  ye!" 

"Mike!"  said  Joe,  angrily,  but  he  grew  very  red 
and  failed  to  meet  the  other's  eye,  "I'm  not — 

"Yes,  ye  are!"  cried  Sheehan.  "Yes,  sir!  It's 
a  thing  ye  prob'ly  haven't  had  the  nerve  to  say 
to  yerself  since  a  boy,  but  that's  yer  notion  inside: 
ye 're  little  better  than  a  missionary!  It  took  me  a 
long  while  to  understand  what  was  drivin'  ye,  but 
I  do  now.  And  ye've  gone  the  right  way  about  it, 
because  we  know  ye'll  stand  fer  us  when  we're  in 
trouble  and  fight  fer  us  till  we  git  a  square  deal,  as 
ye're  goin'  to  fight  for  Happy  now." 

Joe  looked  deeply  troubled.  "Never  mind," 
he  said,  crossly,  and  with  visible  embarrassment. 
"You  think  you  couldn't  make  more  at  the  Beach 
if  you  ran  it  on  my  plan?" 

"  I'm  game  to  try,"  said  Sheehan,  slowly.  "  I'm 
too  old  to  hold  'em  down  out  there  the  way  I  yoosta 
could,  and  I'm  sick  of  it — sick  of  it  into  the  very 
bones  of  me!"  He  wiped  his  forehead.  "Where's 
Claudine?" 

"Held  as  a  witness." 

"I'm  not  sorry  fer  her!"  said  the  red-bearded 
man,  emphatically.  "Women  o'  that  kind  are  so 
light-headed  it's  a  wonder  they  don't  float.  Think 

266 


MR.    SHEEHAN'S   HINTS 

of  her  pickin'  up  Cory's  gun  from  the  floor  and 
hidin'  it  in  her  clothes!  Took  it  fer  granted  it  was 
Happy's,  and  thought  she'd  help  him  by  hidin'  it! 
There's  a  hard  point  fer  ye,  Joe:  to  prove  the  gun 
belonged  to  Cory.  There's  nobody  about  here 
could  swear  to  it.  I  couldn't  myself,  though  I 
forced  him  to  stick  it  back  in  his  pocket  yester 
day.  He  was  a  wanderer,  too;  and  ye'll  have 
to  send  a  keen  one  to  trace  him,  I'm  thinkin', 
to  find  where  he  got  it,  so's  ye  can  show  it  in 
court." 

"I'm  going  myself.  I've  found  out  that  he  came 
here  from  Denver." 

"And  from  where  before  that?" 

"  I  don't  know,  but  I'll  keep  on  travelling  till  I 
get  what  I  want." 

"That's  right,  my  boy,"  exclaimed  the  other, 
heartily.  "  It  may  be  a  long  trip,  but  ye're  all  the 
little  man  has  to  depend  on.  Did  ye  notice  the 
Tocsin  didn't  even  give  him  the  credit  fer  givin' 
himself  up?" 

"Yes,"  said  Joe.     "It's  part  of  their  game." 

"Did  it  strike  ye  now,"  Mr.  Sheehan  asked, 
earnestly,  leaning  forward  in  his  chair,  —  "did  it 
strike  ye  that  the  Tocsin  was  aimin'  more  to  do 
Happy  harm  because  of  you  than  himself?" 

"Yes."  Joe  looked  sadly  out  of  the  window. 
"I've  thought  that  over,  and  it  seemed  possible 

267 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

that  I  might  do  Happy  more  good  by  giving  his 
case  to  some  other  lawyer." 

"No,  sir!"  exclaimed  the  proprietor  of  Beaver 
Beach,  loudly.  "They've  begun  their  attack; 
they're  bound  to  keep  it  up,  and  they'd  manage  to 
turn  it  to  the  discredit  of  both  of  ye.  Besides, 
Happy  wouldn't  have  no  other  lawyer;  he'd  ruther 
be  hung  with  you  fightin'  fer  him  than  be  cleared 
by  anybody  else.  I  b'lieve  it, — on  my  soul  I  do! 
But  look  here,"  he  went  on,  leaning  still  farther 
forward;  "  I  want  to  know  if  it  struck  ye  that  this 
morning  the  Tocsin  attacked  ye  in  a  way  that  was 
somehow  vi'lenter  than  ever  before?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Joe,  "because  it  was  aimed  to 
strike  where  it  would  most  count." 

"It  ain't  only  that,"  said  the  other,  excitedly. 
"It  ain't  only  that!  I  want  ye  to  listen.  Now 
see  here :  the  Tocsin  is  Pike,  and  the  town  is  Pike — 
I  mean  the  town  ye  naturally  belonged  to.  Ain't 
it?" 

"  In  a  way,  I  suppose — yes." 

"In  a  way!"  echoed  the  other,  scornfully.  "Ye 
know  it  is!  Even  as  a  boy  Pike  disliked  ye  and 
hated  the  kind  of  a  boy  ye  was.  Ye  wasn't  re 
spectable  and  he  was!  Ye  wasn't  rich  and  he  was! 
Ye  had  a  grin  on  yer  face  when  ye'd  meet  him  on 
the  street."  The  red-bearded  man  broke  off  at  a 
gesture  from  Joe  and  exclaimed  sharply:  "Don't 

268 


THINK!      WHAT  s    H AIM-EX KI>   I.ATKI.V   TO   MAKI-;    HIM    BITK 

so     HARD  "''  " 


MR.   SHEEHAN'S   HINTS 

deny  it!  I  know  what  ye  was  like!  Ye  wasn't 
impudent,  but  ye  looked  at  him  as  if  ye  saw  through 
him.  Now  listen  and  I'll  lead  ye  somewhere!  Ye 
run  with  riffraff,  naggers,  and  even" — Mr.  Sheehan 
lifted  a  forefinger  solemnly  and  shook  it  at  his 
auditor — "and  even  with  the  Irish!  Now  I  ask 
ye  this:  ye've  had  one  part  of  Canaan  with  ye  from 
the  start,  my  part,  that  is;  but  the  other's  against 
ye;  that  part's  Pike,  and  it's  the  rulin'  part — 

"Yes,  Mike,"  said  Joe,  wearily.  "In  the  spirit 
of  things.  I  know." 

"  No,  sir,"  cried  the  other.  " That's  the  trouble: 
ye  don't  know.  There's  more  in  Canaan  than  ye've 
understood.  Listen  to  this:  Why  was  the  Tocsin's 
attack  harder  this  morning  than  ever  before  ?  On 
yer  soul  didn't  it  sound  so  bitter  that  it  sounded 
desprit?  Now  why?  It  looked  to  me  as  if  it 
had  started  to  ruin  ye,  this  time  fer  good  and  all! 
Why  ?  What  have  ye  had  to  do  with  Martin  Pike 
lately?  Has  the  old  wolf  got  to  injure  ye?"  Mr. 
Sheehan 's  voice  rose  and  his  eyes  gleamed  under 
bushy  brows.  "Think,"  he  finished.  "What'shap- 
pened  lately  to  make  him  bite  so  hard?" 

There  were  some  faded  roses  on  the  desk,  and  as 
Joe's  haggard  eyes  fell  upon  them  the  answer 
came.  "What  makes  you  think  Judge  Pike  isn't 
trustworthy?"  he  had  asked  Ariel,  and  her  reply 
had  been:  " Nothing  very  definite,  unless  it  was  his 

269 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

look  when  I  told  him  that  I  meant  to  ask  you  to 
take  charge  of  things  for  me." 

He  got  slowly  and  amazedly  to  his  feet.  "  You've 
got  it!"  he  said. 

"Ye  see?"  cried  Mike  Sheehan,  slapping  his 
thigh  with  a  big  hand.  "On  my  soul  I  have  the 
penetration!  Ye  don't  need  to  tell  me  one  thing 
except  this:  I  told  ye  I'd  lead  ye  somewhere; 
haven't  I  kept  me  word?" 

"Yes,"  said  Joe. 

"But  I  have  the  penetration!"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Sheehan.  "  Should  I  miss  my  guess  if  I  said  that 
ye  think  Pike  may  be  scared  ye'll  stumble  on  his 
track  in  some  queer  performances?  Should  I 
miss  it?" 

"No,"  said  Joe.     "You  wouldn't  miss  it." 

"Just  one  thing  more."  The  red-bearded  man 
rose,  mopping  the  inner  band  of  his  straw  hat. 
"  In  the  matter  of  yer  runnin'  fer  Mayor, 
now — 

Joe,  who  had  begun  to  pace  up  and  down  the 
room,  made  an  impatient  gesture.  "Pshaw!"  he 
interrupted;  but  his  friend  stopped  him  with  a 
hand  laid  on  his  arm. 

"  Don't  be  treatin'  it  as  clean  out  of  all  possibility, 
Joe  Louden.  If  ye  do,  it  shows  ye  haven't  sense 
to  know  that  nobody  can  say  what  way  the  wind's 
blowin'  week  after  next.  All  the  boys  want  ye; 

270 


MR.   SHEEHAN'S  HINTS 

Louie  Farbach  wants  ye,  and  Louie  has  a  big  say. 
Who  is  it  that  doesn't  want  ye?" 

"Canaan,"  said  Joe. 

"Hold  up!  It's  Pike's  Canaan  ye  mean.  If  ye 
git  the  nomination,  ye'd  be  elected,  wouldn't  ye?" 

"I  couldn't  be  nominated." 

"  I  ain't  claimin'  ye'd  git  Martin  Pike's  vote," 
returned  Mr.  Sheehan,  sharply,  "though  I  don't 
say  it's  impossible.  Ye've  got  to  beat  him,  that's 
all.  Ye've  got  to  do  to  him  what  he's  done  to  you, 
and  what  he's  tryin'  to  do  now  worse  than  ever 
before.  Well — there  may  be  ways  to  do  it;  and 
if  he  tempts  me  enough,  I  may  fergit  my  troth  and 
honor  as  a  noble  gentleman  and  help  ye  with  a 
word  ye'd  never  guess  yerself." 

"You've  hinted  at  such  mysteries  before,  Mike," 
Joe  smiled.  "  I'd  be  glad  to  know  what  you  mean, 
if  there's  anything  in  them." 

"It  may  come  to  that,"  said  the  other,  with 
some  embarrassment.  "  It  may  come  to  that  some 
day,  if  the  old  wolf  presses  me  too  hard  in  the 
matter  o'  tryin'  to  git  the  little  man  across  the 
street  hanged  by  the  neck  and  yerself  mobbed  fer 
helpin'  him!  But  to-day  I'll  say  no  more." 

"Very  well,  Mike."  Joe  turned  wearily  to  his 
desk.  "  I  don't  want  you  to  break  any  promises." 

Mr.  Sheehan  had  gone  to  the  door,  but  he  paused 
on  the  threshold,  and  wiped  his  forehead  again. 

271 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"And  I  don't  want  to  break  any,"  he  said,  "but  if 
ever  the  time  should  come  when  I  couldn't  help 
it" — he  lowered  his  voice  to  a  hoarse  but  piercing 
whisper — "that  will  be  the  devourin'  angel's  day 
fer  Martin  Pikel" 


XVIII 

IN   THE    HEAT   OF   THE    DAY 

|T  was  a  morning  of  the  warmest  week 
of  mid -July,  and  Canaan  lay  inert 
and  helpless  beneath  a  broiling  sun. 
The  few  people  who  moved  about 
the  streets  went  languidly,  keeping 
close  to  the  wall  on  the  shady  side;  the  women  in 
thin  white  fabrics ;  the  men,  often  coatless,  carrying 
palm-leaf  fans,  and  replacing  collars  with  hand 
kerchiefs.  In  the  Court  -  house  yard  the  maple 
leaves,  gray  with  blown  dust  and  grown  to  great 
breadth,  drooped  heavily,  depressing  the  long, 
motionless  branches  with  their  weight,  so  low  that 
the  four  or  five  shabby  idlers,  upon  the  benches 
beneath,  now  and  then  flicked  them  sleepily  with 
whittled  sprigs.  The  doors  and  windows  of  the 
stores  stood  open,  displaying  limp  wares  of  trade, 
but  few  tokens  of  life ;  the  clerks  hanging  over  dim 
counters  as  far  as  possible  from  the  glare  in  front, 
gossiping  fragmentarily,  usually  about  the  Cory 
murder,  and,  anon,  upon  a  subject  suggested  by 

273 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

the  sight  of  an  occasional  pedestrian  passing  per 
spiring  by  with  scrooged  eyelids  and  purpling  skin. 
From  street  and  sidewalk,  transparent  hot  waves 
swam  up  and  danced  themselves  into  nothing; 
while  from  the  river  bank,  a  half-mile  away,  came 
a  sound  hotter  than  even  the  locust's  midsummer 
rasp:  the  drone  of  a  planing -mill.  A  chance  boy, 
lying  prone  in  the  grass  of  the  Court-house  yard, 
was  annoyed  by  the  relentless  chant  and  lifted  his 
head  to  mock  it:  " Awr-eer-awr-eer!  Shut  up, 
can't  you?"  The  effort  was  exhausting:  he  re 
lapsed  and  suffered  with  increasing  malice  but  in 
silence. 

Abruptly  there  was  a  violent  outbreak  on  the 
"National  House"  corner,  as  when  a  quiet  farm 
house  is  startled  by  some  one's  inadvertently  bring 
ing  down  all  the  tin  from  a  shelf  in  the  pantry.  The 
loafers  on  the  benches  turned  hopefully,  saw  what 
it  was,  then  closed  their  eyes,  and  slumped  back 
into  their  former  positions.  The  outbreak  sub 
sided  as  suddenly  as  it  had  arisen :  Colonel  Flitcrof t 
pulled  Mr.  Arp  down  into  his  chair  again,  and  it 
was  all  over. 

Greater  heat  than  that  of  these  blazing  days 
could  not  have  kept  one  of  the  sages  from  attend 
ing  the  conclave  now.  For  the  battle  was  on  in 
Canaan :  and  here,  upon  the  National  House  corner, 
under  the  shadow  of  the  west  wall,  it  waxed  even 

274 


IN  THE   HEAT   OF   THE   DAY 

keener.  Perhaps  we  may  find  full  justification  for 
calling  what  was  happening  a  battle  in  so  far  as  we 
restrict  the  figure  to  apply  to  this  one  spot;  else 
where,  in  the  Canaan  of  the  Tocsin,  the  conflict 
was  too  one-sided.  The  Tocsin  had  indeed  tried 
the  case  of  Happy  Fear  in  advance,  had  convicted 
and  condemned,  and  every  day  grew  more  bitter. 
Nor  was  the  urgent  vigor  of  its  attack  without 
effect.  Sleepy  as  Main  Street  seemed  in  the  heat, 
the  town  was  incensed  and  roused  to  a  tensity  of 
feeling  it  had  not  known  since  the  civil  war,  when, 
on  occasion,  it  had  set  out  to  hang  half  a  dozen 
"Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle."  Joe  had  been 
hissed  on  the  street  many  times  since  the  inimical 
clerk  had  whistled  at  him.  Probably  demonstra 
tions  of  that  sort  would  have  continued  had  he 
remained  in  Canaan;  but  for  almost  a  month  he 
had  been  absent  and  his  office  closed,  its  threshold 
gray  with  dust.  There  were  people  who  believed 
that  he  had  run  away  again,  this  time  never  to  re 
turn  ;  among  those  who  held  to  this  opinion  being 
Mrs.  Louden  and  her  sister,  Joe's  stepaunt.  Upon 
only  one  point  was  everybody  agreed :  that  twelve 
men  could  not  be  found  in  the  county  who  could 
be  so  far  persuaded  and  befuddled  by  Louden 
that  they  would  dare  to  allow  Happy  Fear  to  es 
cape.  The  women  of  Canaan,  incensed  by  the 
terrible  circumstance  of  the  case,  as  the  Tocsin 

275 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

colored  it — a  man  shot  down  in  the  act  of  begging 
his  enemy's  forgiveness  —  clamored  as  loudly  as 
the  men:  there  was  only  the  difference  that  the 
latter  vociferated  for  the  hanging  of  Happy ;  their 
good  ladies  used  the  word  "punishment." 

And  yet,  while  the  place  rang  with  condemna 
tion  of  the  little  man  in  the  jail  and  his  attorney, 
there  were  voices,  here  and  there,  uplifted  on  the 
other  side.  People  existed,  it  astonishingly  ap 
peared,  who  liked  Happy  Fear.  These  were  for  the 
greater  part  obscure  and  even  darkling  in  their 
lives,  yet  quite  demonstrably  human  beings,  able 
to  smile,  suffer,  leap,  run,  and  to  entertain  fancies ; 
even  to  have,  according  to  their  degree,  a  certain 
rudimentary  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  in  spite  of 
which  they  strongly  favored  the  prisoner's  acquit 
tal.  Precisely  on  that  account,  it  was  argued,  an 
acquittal  would  outrage  Canaan  and  lay  it  open 
to  untold  danger:  such  people  needed  a  lesson. 

The  Tocsin  interviewed  the  town's  great  ones, 
printing  their  opinions  of  the  heinousness  of  the 
crime  and  the  character  of  the  defendant's  lawyer. 
.  .  .  "The  Hon.  P.  J.  Parrott,  who  so  ably  repre 
sented  this  county  in  the  Legislature  some  fourteen 
years  ago,  could  scarcely  restrain  himself  when 
approached  by  a  reporter  as  to  his  sentiments  anent 
the  repulsive  deed.  '  I  should  like  to  know  how 
long  Canaan  is  going  to  put  up  with  this  sort  of 

276 


IN   THE   HEAT   OF   THE   DAY 

business/  were  his  words.  'I  am  a  law-abiding 
citizen,  and  I  have  served  faithfully,  and  with  my 
full  endeavor  and  ability,  to  enact  the  laws  and 
statutes  of  my  State,  but  there  is  a  point  in  my 
patience,  I  would  state,  which  lawbreakers  and 
their  lawyers  may  not  safely  pass.  Of  what  use 
are  our  most  solemn  enactments,  I  may  even  ask 
of  what  use  is  the  Legislature  itself,  chosen  by  the 
will  of  the  people,  if  they  are  to  ruthlessly  be  set 
aside  by  criminals  and  their  shifty  protectors? 
The  blame  should  be  put  upon  the  lawyers  who  by 
tricks  enable  such  rascals  to  escape  the  rigors  of 
the  carefully  enacted  laws,  the  fruits  of  the  Solon's 
labor,  more  than  upon  the  criminals  themselves. 
In  this  case,  if  there  is  any  miscarriage  of  justice,  I 
will  say  here  and  now  that  in  my  opinion  the 
people  of  this  county  will  be  sorely  tempted;  and 
while  I  do  not  believe  in  lynch-law,  yet  if  that 
should  be  the  result  it  is  my  unalterable  convic 
tion  that  the  vigilantes  may  well  turn  their  atten 
tion  to  the  lawyers — or  lawyer — who  bring  about 
such  miscarriage.  I  am  sick  of  it. ' ' 

The  Tocsin  did  not  print  the  interview  it  obtained 
from  Louie  Farbach — the  same  Louie  Farbach  who 
long  ago  had  owned  a  beer-saloon  with  a  little  room 
behind  the  bar,  where  a  shabby  boy  sometimes 
played  dominoes  and  "seven-up"  with  loafers: 
not  quite  the  same  Louie  Farbach,  however,  in 

277 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

outward  circumstance:  for  he  was  now  the  brewer 
of  Farbach  Beer  and  making  Canaan  famous.  His 
rise  had  been  Teutonic  and  sure;  and  he  con 
tributed  one-twentieth  of  his  income  to  the  Ger 
man  Orphan  Asylum  and  one-tenth  to  his  party's 
campaign  fund.  The  twentieth  saved  the  orphans 
from  the  county,  while  the  tithe  gave  the  county 
to  his  party. 

He  occupied  a  kitchen  chair,  enjoying  the  society 
of  some  chickens  in  a  wired  enclosure  behind  the 
new  Italian  villa  he  had  erected  in  that  part  of 
Canaan  where  he  would  be  most  uncomfortable, 
and  he  looked  woodenly  at  the  reporter  when  the 
latter  put  his  question. 

"Hef  you  any  aguaintunce  off  Mitster  Fear?" 
he  inquired,  in  return,  with  no  expression  de 
cipherable  either  upon  his  Gargantuan  face  or  in 
his  heavily  enfolded  eyes. 

"No,  sir,"  replied  the  reporter,  grinning.  "I 
never  ran  across  him." 

"  Dot  iss  a  goot  t'ing  fer  you,"  said  Mr.  Farbach, 
stonily.  "  He  iss  not  a  man  peobles  bedder  try  to 
run  across.  It  iss  what  Gory  tried.  Now  Gory  iss 
dead." 

The  reporter,  slightly  puzzled,  lit  a  cigarette. 
"See  here,  Mr.  Farbach,"  he  urged,  "I  only  want 
a  word  or  two  about  this  thing;  and  you  might 
give  me  a  brief  expression  concerning  that  man 

278 


IN  THE   HEAT   OF  THE   DAY 

Louden  besides:  just  a  hint  of  what  you  think  of 
his  influence  here,  you  know,  and  of  the  kind  of 
sharp  work  he  practises.  Something  like  that." 

"  I  see,"  said  the  brewer,  slowly.  "  Happy  Fear 
I  hef  knowt  for  a  goot  many  years.  He  is  a  goot 
frient  of  mine." 

"What?" 

"Choe  Louten  iss  a  bedder  one,"  continued  Mr. 
Farbach,  turning  again  to  stare  at  his  chickens. 
"Gitowit." 

"What?" 

"Git  owit,"  repeated  the  olaer,  without  passion, 
without  anger,  without  any  expression  whatsoever. 
"Gitowit." 

The  reporter's  prejudice  against  the  German 
nation  dated  from  that  moment. 

There  were  others,  here  and  there,  who  were  less 
self-contained  than  the  brewer.  A  farm-hand 
struck  a  fellow  laborer  in  the  harvest  -  field  for 
speaking  ill  of  Joe ;  and  the  unravelling  of  a  strange 
street  fight,  one  day,  disclosed  as  its  cause  a  like 
resentment,  on  the  part  of  a  blind  broom-maker, 
engendered  by  a  like  offence.  The  broom-maker's 
companion,  reading  the  Tocsin  as  the  two  walked 
together,  had  begun  the  quarrel  by  remarking  that 
Happy  Fear  ought  to  be  hanged  once  for  his  own 
sake  and  twice  more  "to  show  up  that  shyster 
Louden."  Warm  words  followed,  leading  to  ex- 

'»  279 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

tremely  material  conflict,  in  which,  in  spite  of 
his  blindness,  the  broom-maker  had  so  much  the 
best  of  it  that  he  was  removed  from  the  triumphant 
attitude  he  had  assumed  toward  the  person  of 
his  adversary,  which  was  an  admirable  imitation 
of  the  dismounted  St.  George  and  the  Dragon,  and 
conveyed  to  the  jail.  Keenest  investigation  failed 
to  reveal  anything  oblique  in  the  man's  record;  to 
the  astonishment  of  Canaan,  there  was  nothing 
against  him.  He  was  blind  and  moderately  poor ; 
but  a  respectable,  hard  -  working  artisan,  and  a 
pride  to  the  church  in  which  he  was  what  has 
been  called  an  "active  worker."  It  was  discov 
ered  that  his  sensitiveness  to  his  companion's 
attack  on  Joseph  Louden  arose  from  the  fact  that 
Joe  had  obtained  the  acquittal  of  an  imbecile  sister 
of  the  blind  man,  a  two-thirds-witted  woman  who 
had  been  charged  with  bigamy. 

The  Tocsin  made  what  it  could  of  this,  and  so 
dexterously  that  the  wrath  of  Canaan  was  one 
farther  jot  increased  against  the  shyster.  Ay,  the 
town  was  hot,  inside  and  out. 

Let  us  consider  the  Forum.  Was  there  ever 
before  such  a  summer  for  the  "National  House" 
corner?  How  voices  first  thundered  there,  then 
cracked  and  piped,  is  not  to  be  rendered  in  all  the 
tales  of  the  fathers.  One  who  would  make  vivid 
the  great  doings  must  indeed  "dip  his  brush  in 

280 


IN   THE   HEAT  OF   THE   DAY 

earthquake  and  eclipse";  even  then  he  could  but 
picture  the  credible,  and  must  despair  of  this:  the 
silence  of  Eskew  Arp.  Not  that  Eskew  held  his 
tongue,  not  that  he  was  chary  of  speech  —  no! 
0  tempora,  0  mores!  No!  But  that  he  refused  the 
subject  in  hand,  that  he  eschewed  expression  upon 
it  and  resolutely  drove  the  argument  in  other  di 
rections,  that  he  achieved  such  superbly  un-Arplike 
inconsistency;  and  with  such  rich  material  for  his 
sardonic  humors,  not  at  arm's  length,  not  even  so 
far  as  his  finger-tips,  but  beneath  his  very  palms, 
he  rejected  it:  this  was  the  impossible  fact. 

Eskew — there  is  no  option  but  to  declare — was 
no  longer  Eskew.  It  is  the  truth ;  since  the  morn 
ing  when  Ariel  Tabor  came  down  from  Joe's  office, 
leaving  her  offering  of  white  roses  in  that  dingy, 
dusty,  shady  place,  Eskew  had  not  been  himself. 
His  comrades  observed  it  somewhat  in  a  physical 
difference,  one  of  those  alterations  which  may 
come  upon  men  of  his  years  suddenly,  like  a  "  sea 
change":  his  face  was  whiter,  his  walk  slower,  his 
voice  filed  thinner ;  he  creaked  louder  when  he  rose 
or  sat.  Old  always,  from  his  boyhood,  he  had, 
in  the  turn  of  a  hand,  become  aged.  But  such 
things  come  and  such  things  go :  after  eighty  there 
are  ups  and  downs;  people  fading  away  one  week, 
bloom  out  pleasantly  the  next,  and  resiliency  is 
not  at  all  a  patent  belonging  to  youth  alone.  The 

281 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

material  change  in  Mr.  Arp  might  have  been 
thought  little  worth  remarking.  What  caused 
Peter  Bradbury,  Squire  Buckalew,  and  the  Colonel 
to  shake  their  heads  secretly  to  one  another  and 
wonder  if  their  good  old  friend's  mind  had  not 
"begun  to  go"  was  something  very  different.  To 
come  straight  down  to  it:  he  not  only  abstained 
from  all  argument  upon  the  "Cory  Murder"  and 
the  case  of  Happy  Fear,  refusing  to  discuss  either 
in  any  terms  or  under  any  circumstances,  but  he 
also  declined  to  speak  of  Ariel  Tabor  or  of  Joseph 
Louden;  or  of  their  affairs,  singular  or  plural,  mas 
culine,  feminine,  or  neuter,  or  in  any  declension. 
Not  a  word,  committal  or  non-committal.  None! 

And  his  face,  when  he  was  silent,  fell  into  sor 
rowful  and  troubled  lines. 

At  first  they  merely  marvelled.  Then  Squire 
Buckalew  dared  to  tempt  him.  Eskew's  faded 
eyes  showed  a  blue  gleam,  but  he  withstood,  speak 
ing  of  Babylon  to  the  disparagement  of  Chicago. 
They  sought  to  lead  him  into  what  he  evidently 
would  not,  employing  many  devices;  but  the  old 
man  was  wily  and  often  carried  them  far  afield  by 
secret  ways  of  his  own.  This  hot  morning  he  had 
done  that  thing:  they  were  close  upon  him,  press 
ing  him  hard,  when  he  roused  that  outburst  which 
had  stirred  the  idlers  on  the  benches  in  the  Court 
house  yard.  Squire  Buckalew  (sidelong  at  the 

282 


IN   THE   HEAT   OF  THE   DAY 

others  but  squarely  at  Eskew)  had  volunteered 
the  information  that  Cory  was  a  reformed  priest. 
Stung  by  the  mystery  of  Eskew's  silence,  the 
Squire's  imagination  had  become  magically  gym 
nastic;  and  if  anything  under  heaven  could  have 
lifted  the  veil,  this  was  the  thing.  Mr.  Arp's  reply 
may  be  reverenced. 

"I  consider,"  he  said,  deliberately,  "that  James 
G.  Elaine's  furrin  policy  was  childish,  and,  what's 
more,  I  never  thought  much  of  him!" 

This  outdefied  Ajax,  and  every  trace  of  the  mat 
ter  in  hand  went  to  the  four  winds.  Eskew,  like 
Rome,  was  saved  by  a  cackle,  in  which  he  joined, 
and  a  few  moments  later,  as  the  bench  loafers  saw, 
was  pulled  down  into  his  seat  by  the  Colonel. 

The  voices  of  the  fathers  fell  to  the  pitch  of 
ordinary  discourse;  the  drowsy  town  was  quiet 
again ;  the  whine  of  the  planing-mill  boring  its  way 
through  the  sizzling  air  to  every  wakening  ear. 
Far  away,  on  a  quiet  street,  it  sounded  faintly, 
like  the  hum  of  a  bee  across  a  creek,  and  was  drown 
ed  in  the  noise  of  men  at  work  on  the  old  Tabor 
house.  It  seemed  the  only  busy  place  in  Canaan 
that  day:  the  shade  of  the  big  beech-trees  which 
surrounded  it  affording  some  shelter  from  the  de 
stroying  sun  to  the  dripping  laborers  who  were 
sawing,  hammering,  painting,  plumbing,  paper 
ing,  and  ripping  open  old  and  new  packing-boxes. 

283 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

There  were  many  changes  in  the  old  house — 
pleasantly  in  keeping  with  its  simple  character: 
airy  enlargements  now  almost  completed  so  that 
some  of  the  rooms  were  already  finished,  and 
stood,  furnished  and  immaculate,  ready  for  ten 
ancy. 

In  that  which  had  been  Roger  Tabor's  studio 
sat  Ariel,  alone.  She  had  caused  some  chests  and 
cases,  stored  there,  to  be  opened,  and  had  taken 
out  of  them  a  few  of  Roger's  canvases  and  set  them 
along  the  wall.  Tears  filled  her  eyes  as  she  looked 
at  them,  seeing  the  tragedy  of  labor  the  old  man 
had  expended  upon  them;  but  she  felt  the  recom 
pense  :  hard,  tight,  literal  as  they  were,  he  had  had 
his  moment  of  joy  in  each  of  them  before  he  saw 
them  coldly  and  knew  the  truth.  And  he  had 
been  given  his  years  of  Paris  at  last :  and  had  seen 
"how  the  other  fellows  did  it." 

A  heavy  foot  strode  through  the  hall,  coming 
abruptly  to  a  halt  in  the  doorway,  and  turning,  she 
discovered  Martin  Pike,  his  big  Henry-the-Eighth 
face  flushed  more  with  anger  than  with  the  heat. 
His  hat  was  upon  his  head,  and  remained  there, 
nor  did  he  offer  any  token  or  word  of  greeting 
whatever,  but  demanded  to  know  when  the  work 
upon  the  house  had  been  begun. 

"The  second  morning  after  rny  return,"  she 
answered. 

284 


IN  THE   HEAT   OF  THE   DAY 

"I  want  to  know,"  he  pursued,  "why  it  was 
kept  secret  from  me,  and  I  want  to  know  quick." 

"Secret?"  she  echoed,  with  a  wave  of  her  hand 
to  indicate  the  noise  which  the  workmen  were 
making. 

"Upon  whose  authority  was  it  begun?" 

"Mine.     Who  else  could  give  it?" 

"Look  here,"  he  said,  advancing  toward  her, 
"don't  you  try  to  fool  me!  You  haven't  done  all 
this  by  yourself.  Who  hired  these  workmen?" 

Remembering  her  first  interview  with  him,  she 
rose  quickly  before  he  could  come  near  her.  "Mr. 
Louden  made  most  of  the  arrangements  for  me," 
she  replied,  quietly,  "before  he  went  away.  He 
will  take  charge  of  everything  when  he  returns. 
You  haven't  forgotten  that  I  told  you  I  intended 
to  place  my  affairs  in  his  hands?" 

He  had  started  forward,  but  at  this  he  stopped 
and  stared  at  her  inarticulately. 

"You  remember?"  she  said,  her  hands  resting 
negligently  upon  the  back  of  the  chair.  "Surely 
you  remember?" 

She  was  not  in  the  least  afraid  of  him,  but  coolly 
watchful  of  him.  This  had  been  her  habit  with 
him  since  her  return.  She  had  seen  little  of  him, 
except  at  table,  when  he  was  usually  grimly  la 
conic,  though  now  and  then  she  would  hear  him 
joking  heavily  with  Sam  Warden  in  the  yard,  or, 

285 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

with  evidently  humorous  intent,  groaning  at  Mamie 
over  Eugene's  health ;  but  it  had  not  escaped  Ariel 
that  he  was,  on  his  part,  watchful  of  herself,  and 
upon  his  guard  with  a  wariness  in  which  she  was 
sometimes  surprised  to  believe  that  she  saw  an 
almost  haggard  apprehension. 

He  did  not  answer  her  question,  and  it  seemed 
to  her,  as  she  continued  steadily  to  meet  his  hot 
eyes,  that  he  was  trying  to  hold  himself  under  some 
measure  of  control ;  and  a  vain  effort  it  proved. 

"You  go  back  to  my  house!"  he  burst  out, 
shouting  hoarsely.  "You  get  back  there!  You 
stay  there!" 

"No,"  she  said,  moving  between  him  and  the 
door.  "Mamie  and  I  are  going  for  a  drive." 

"You  go  back  to  my  house!"  He  followed  her, 
waving  an  arm  fiercely  at  her.  "  Don't  you  come 
around  here  trying  to  run  over  me!  You  talk 
about  your  'affairs'!  All  you've  got  on  earth 
is  this  two-for-a-nickel  old  shack  over  your  head 
and  a  bushel-basket  of  distillery  stock  that  you 
can  sell  by  the  pound  for  old  paper!"  He  threw 
the  words  in  her  face,  the  bull-bass  voice  seamed 
and  cracked  with  falsetto.  "Old  paper,  old  rags, 
old  iron,  bottles,  old  clothes!  You  talk  about 
your  affairs!  Who  are  you?  Rothschild?  You 
haven't  got  any  affairs!" 

Not  a  look,  not  a  word,  not  a  motion  of  his  es- 
286 


IN  THE  HEAT  OF  THE  DAY 

caped  her  in  all  the  fury  of  sound  and  gesture  in 
which  he  seemed  fairly  to  envelop  himself ;  least  of 
all  did  that  shaking  of  his — the  quivering  of  jaw 
and  temple,  the  tumultuous  agitation  of  his  hands 
— evade  her  watchfulness. 

"When  did  you  find  this  out?"  she  said,  very 
quickly.  "After  you  became  administrator?" 

He  struck  the  back  of  the  chair  she  had  vacated 
a  vicious  blow  with  his  open  hand.  "  No,  you 
spendthrift!  All  there  was  to  your  grandfather 
when  you  buried  him  was  a  basket  full  of  distillery 
stock,  I  tell  you!  Old  paper!  Can't  you  hear  me? 
Old  paper,  old  rags— 

"You  have  sent  me  the  same  income,"  she 
lifted  her  voice  to  interrupt;  "you  have  made  the 
same  quarterly  payments  since  his  death  that  you 
made  before.  If  you  knew,  why  did  you  do  that  ?" 

He  had  been  shouting  at  her  with  the  frantic  and 
incredulous  exasperation  of  an  intolerant  man  ut 
terly  unused  to  opposition ;  his  face  empurpled,  his 
forehead  dripping,  and  his  hands  ruthlessly  pound 
ing  the  back  of  the  chair;  but  this  straight  ques 
tion  stripped  him  suddenly  of  gesture  and  left  him 
standing  limp  and  still  before  her,  pale  splotches 
beginning  to  show  on  his  hot  cheeks. 

"  If  you  knew,  why  did  you  do  it  ?"  she  repeated. 
"You  wrote  me  that  my  income  was  from  divi 
dends,  and  I  knew  and  thought  nothing  about  it; 

287 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

but  if  the  stock  which  came  to  me  was  worthless, 
how  could  it  pay  dividends?" 

"  It  did  not,"  he  answered,  huskily.  "That  dis 
tillery  stock,  I  tell  you,  isn't  worth  the  matches  to 
burn  it." 

"  But  there  has  been  no  difference  in  my  income," 
she  persisted,  steadily.  "  Why  ?  Can  you  explain 
that  to  me?" 

"Yes,  I  can,"  he  replied,  and  it  seemed  to  her 
that  he  spoke  with  a  pallid  and  bitter  desperation, 
like  a  man  driven  to  the  wall.  "  I  can  if  you 
think  you  want  to  know." 

"I  do." 

"I  sent  it." 

"  Do  you  mean  from  you  own — " 

"  I  mean  it  was  my  own  money." 

She  had  not  taken  her  eyes  from  his,  which  met 
hers  straightly  and  angrily;  and  at  this  she  leaned 
forward,  gazing  at  him  with  profound  scrutiny. 

"Why  did  you  send  it?"  she  asked. 

"Charity,"  he  answered,  after  palpable  hesita 
tion. 

Her  eyes  widened  and  she  leaned  back  against 
the  lintel  of  the  door,  staring  at  him  incredulously. 
"Charity!"  she  echoed,  in  a  whisper. 

Perhaps  he  mistook  her  amazement  at  his  per 
formance  for  dismay  caused  by  the  sense  of  her 
own  position,  for,  as  she  seemed  to  weaken  before 

288 


IN   THE   HEAT   OF  THE   DAY 

him,  the  strength  of  his  own  habit  of  dominance 
came  back  to  him.  "Charity,  madam!"  he  broke 
out,  shouting  intolerably.  "Charity,  d'ye  hear? 
I  was  a  friend  of  the  man  that  made  the  money  you 
and  your  grandfather  squandered;  I  was  a  friend 
of  Jonas  Tabor,  I  say!  That's  why  I  was  willing 
to  support  you  for  a  year  and  over,  rather  than  let 
a  niece  of  his  suffer," 

"'Suffer'!"  she  cried.  "'Support'!  You  sent 
me  a  hundred  thousand  francs!" 

The  white  splotches  which  had  mottled  Martin 
Pike's  face  disappeared  as  if  they  had  been  sud 
denly  splashed  with  hot  red.  "You  go  back  to 
my  house,"  he  said.  "What  I  sent  you  only 
shows  the  extent  of  my — 

"Effrontery!"  The  word  rang  through  the 
whole  house,  so  loudly  and  clearly  did  she  strike 
it,  rang  in  his  ears  till  it  stung  like  a  castigation. 
It  was  ominous,  portentous  of  justice  and  of  dis 
aster.  There  was  more  than  doubt  of  him  in  it: 
there  was  conviction. 

He  fell  back  from  this  word ;  and  when  he  again 
advanced,  Ariel  had  left  the  house.  She  had 
turned  the  next  corner  before  he  came  out  of  the 
gate;  and  as  he  passed  his  own  home  on  his  way 
down-town,  he  saw  her  white  dress  mingling  with 
his  daughter's  near  the  horse-block  beside  the  fire, 
where  the  two,  with  their  arms  about  each  other, 

289 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

stood    waiting    for    Sam    Warden    and    the    open 
summer  carriage. 

Judge  Pike  walked  on,  the  white  splotches  re 
appearing  like  a  pale  rash  upon  his  face.  A  yellow 
butterfly  zigzagged  before  him,  knee-high,  across 
the  sidewalk.  He  raised  his  foot  and  half  kicked 
at  it. 


XIX 

ESKEW    ARP 

[S  the  Judge  continued  his  walk  down 
Main  Street,  he  wished  profoundly 
that  the  butterfly  (which  exhibited 
no  annoyance)  had  been  of  greater 
bulk  and  more  approachable;  and  it 
was  the  evil  fortune  of  Joe's  mongrel  to  encounter 
him  in  the  sinister  humor  of  such  a  wish  unfulfilled. 
Respectability  dwelt  at  Beaver  Beach  under  the 
care  of  Mr.  Sheehan  until  his  master  should  return ; 
and  Sheehan  was  kind ;  but  the  small  dog  found 
the  world  lonely  and  time  long  without  Joe.  He 
had  grown  more  and  more  restless,  and  at  last,  this 
hot  morning,  having  managed  to  evade  the  eye  of 
all  concerned  in  his  keeping,  made  off  unobtrusive 
ly,  partly  by  swimming,  and  reaching  the  road, 
cantered  into  town,  his  ears  erect  with  anxiety. 
Bent  upon  reaching  the  familiar  office,  he  passed 
the  grocery  from  the  doorway  of  which  the  pimply- 
cheeked  clerk  had  thrown  a  bad  potato  at  him  a 
month  before.  The  same  clerk  had  just  laid  down 

291 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

the  Tocsin  as  Respectability  went  by,  and,  in 
spired  to  great  deeds  in  behalf  of  justice  and  his 
native  city,  he  rushed  to  the  door,  lavishly  seized, 
this  time,  a  perfectly  good  potato,  and  hurled  it 
with  a  result  which  ecstasized  him,  for  it  took  the 
mongrel  fairly  aside  the  head,  which  it  matched  in 
size. 

The  luckless  Respectability's  purpose  to  reach 
Joe's  stairway  had  been  entirely  definite,  but  upon 
this  violence  he  forgot  it  momentarily.  It  is  not 
easy  to  keep  things  in  mind  when  one  is  violently 
smitten  on  mouth,  nose,  cheek,  eye,  and  ear  by  a 
missile  large  enough  to  strike  them  simultaneous 
ly.  Yelping  and  half  blinded,  he  deflected  to  cross 
Main  Street.  Judge  Pike  had  elected  to  cross  in 
the  opposite  direction,  and  the  two  met  in  the 
middle  of  the  street. 

The  encounter  was  miraculously  fitted  to  the 
Judge's  need:  here  was  no  butterfly,  but  a  solid 
body,  light  withal,  a  wet,  muddy,  and  dusty  yellow 
dog,  eminently  kickable.  The  man  was  heavily 
built  about  the  legs,  and  the  vigor  of  what  he  did 
may  have  been  additionally  inspired  by  his  recog 
nition  of  the  mongrel  as  Joe  Louden's.  The  im 
pact  of  his  toe  upon  the  little  runner's  side  was 
momentous,  and  the  latter  rose  into  the  air.  The 
Judge  hopped,  as  one  hops  who,  unshod  in  the 
night,  discovers  an  unexpected  chair.  Let  us  be 

292 


ESKEW   ARP 

reconciled  to  his  pain  and  not  reproach  the  gods 
with  it, — for  two  of  his  unintending  adversary's 
ribs  were  cracked. 

The  dog,  thus  again  deflected,  retraced  his 
tracks,  shrieking  distractedly,  and,  by  one  of  those 
ironical  twists  which  Karma  reserves  for  the  tails 
of  the  fated,  dived  for  blind  safety  into  the  store 
commanded  by  the  ecstatic  and  inimical  clerk. 
There  were  shouts ;  the  sleepy  Square  beginning  to 
wake  up :  the  boy  who  had  mocked  the  planing-mill 
got  to  his  feet,  calling  upon  his  fellows ;  the  bench 
loafers  strolled  to  the  street ;  the  aged  men  stirred 
and  rose  from  their  chairs;  faces  appeared  in  the 
open  windows  of  offices ;  sales  ladies  and  gentlemen 
came  to  the  doorways  of  the  trading-places;  so 
that  when  Respectability  emerged  from  the  gro 
cery  he  had  a  notable  audience  for  the  scene  he 
enacted  with  a  brass  dinner-bell  tied  to  his  tail. 

Another  potato,  flung  by  the  pimpled,  uproar 
ious,  prodigal  clerk,  added  to  the  impetus  of  his 
flight.  A  shower  of  pebbles  from  the  hands  of 
exhilarated  boys  dented  the  soft  asphalt  about 
him;  the  hideous  clamor  of  the  pursuing  bell  in 
creased  as  he  turned  the  next  corner,  running  dis 
tractedly.  The  dead  town  had  come  to  life,  and 
its  inhabitants  gladly  risked  the  dangerous  heat  in 
the  interests  of  sport,  whereby  it  was  a  merry 
chase  the  little  dog  led  around  the  block.  For  thus 

293 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

some  destructive  instinct  drove  him;  he  could  not 
stop  with  the  unappeasable  Terror  clanging  at  his 
heels  and  the  increasing  crowd  yelling  in  pursuit; 
but  he  turned  to  the  left  at  each  corner,  and  thus 
came  back  to  pass  Joe's  stairway  again,  unable  to 
pause  there  or  anywhere,  unable  to  do  anything 
except  to  continue  his  hapless  flight,  poor  meteor. 

Round  the  block  he  went  once  more,  and  still  no 
chance  at  that  empty  stairway  where,  perhaps,  he 
thought,  there  might  be  succor  and  safety.  Blood 
was  upon  his  side  where  Martin  Pike's  boot  had 
crashed,  foam  and  blood  hung  upon  his  jaws  and 
lolling  tongue.  He  ran  desperately,  keeping  to 
the  middle  of  the  street,  and,  not  howling,  set  him 
self  despairingly  to  outstrip  the  Terror.  The  mob, 
disdaining  the  sun  superbly,  pursued  as  closely  as 
it  could,  throwing  bricks  and  rocks  at  him,  strik 
ing  at  him  with  clubs  and  sticks.  Happy  Fear, 
playing  "tic-tac-toe,"  right  hand  against  left,  in 
his  cell,  heard  the  uproar,  made  out  something  of 
what  was  happening,  and,  though  unaware  that 
it  was  a  friend  whose  life  was  sought,  discovered  a 
similarity  to  his  own  case,  and  prayed  to  his  dim 
gods  that  the  quarry  might  get  away. 

"Mad  dog!"  they  yelled.  ''Mad  dog!"  And 
there  were  some  who  cried,  "Joe  Louden' s  dog!" 
that  being  equally  as  exciting  and  explanatory. 

Three  times  round,  and  still  the  little  fugitive 
294 


ESKEW   ARP 

maintained  a  lead.  A  gray-helmeted  policeman, 
a  big  fellow,  had  joined  the  pursuit.  He  had  chil 
dren  at  home  who  might  be  playing  in  the  street, 
and  the  thought  of  what  might  happen  to  them 
if  the  mad  dog  should  head  that  way  resolved  him 
to  be  cool  and  steady.  He  was  falling  behind,  so 
he  stopped  on  the  corner,  trusting  that  Respect 
ability  would  come  round  again.  He  was  right, 
and  the  flying  brownish  thing  streaked  along  Main 
Street,  passing  the  beloved  stairway  for  the  fourth 
time.  The  policeman  lifted  his  revolver,  fired 
twice,  missed  once,  but  caught  him  with  the  second 
shot  in  a  forepaw,  clipping  off  a  fifth  toe,  one  of 
the  small  claws  that  grow  above  the  foot  and  are 
always  in  trouble.  This  did  not  stop  him;  but  the 
policeman,  afraid  to  risk  another  shot  because  of 
the  crowd,  waited  for  him  to  come  again;  and 
many  others,  seeing  the  hopeless  circuit  the  mon 
grel  followed,  did  likewise,  armed  with  bricks  and 
clubs.  Among  them  was  the  pimply  clerk,  who 
had  been  inspired  to  commandeer  a  pitchfork  from 
a  hardware  store. 

When  the  fifth  round  came,  Respectability's 
race  was  run.  He  turned  into  Main  Street  at  a 
broken  speed,  limping,  parched,  voiceless,  flecked 
with  blood  and  foam,  snapping  feebly  at  the  show 
ering  rocks,  but  still  indomitably  a  little  ahead  of 
the  hunt.  There  was  no  yelp  left  in  him — he  was 

ao  295 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

too  thoroughly  winded  for  that, — but  in  his  brill 
iant  and  despairing  eyes  shone  the  agony  of  a  cry 
louder  than  the  tongue  of  a  dog  could  utter:  "O 
master !  O  all  the  god  I  know !  Where  are  you  in 
my  mortal  need?" 

Now  indeed  he  had  a  gauntlet  to  run;  for  the 
street  was  lined  with  those  who  awaited  him,  while 
the  pursuit  grew  closer  behind.  A  number  of  the 
hardiest  stood  squarely  in  his  path,  and  he  hesi 
tated  for  a  second,  which  gave  the  opportunity  for 
a  surer  aim,  and  many  missiles  struck  him.  "  Let 
him  have  it  now,  officer,"  said  Eugene  Bantry, 
standing  with  Judge  Pike  at  the  policeman's  elbow. 
"There's  your  chance." 

But  before  the  revolver  could  be  discharged, 
Respectability  had  begun  to  run  again,  hobbling 
on  three  legs  and  dodging  feebly.  A  heavy  stone 
struck  him  on  the  shoulder  and  he  turned  across 
the  street,  making  for  the  "National  House  "  corner, 
where  the  joyful  clerk  brandished  his  pitchfork. 
Going  slowly,  he  almost  touched  the  pimply  one 
as  he  passed,  and  the  clerk,  already  rehearsing  in 
his  mind  the  honors  which  should  follow  the  brave 
stroke,  raised  the  tines  above  the  little  dog's  head 
for  the  coup  de  grace.  They  did  not  descend,  and 
the  daring  youth  failed  of  fame  as  the  laurel  al 
most  embraced  his  brows.  A  hickory  walking- 
stick  was  thrust  between  his  legs;  and  he,  expect- 

296 


ESKEW   ARP 

ing  to  strike,  received  a  blow  upon  the  temple 
sufficient  for  his  present  undoing  and  bedazzle- 
ment.  He  went  over  backwards,  and  the  pitch 
fork  (not  the  thing  to  hold  poised  on  high  when 
one  is  knocked  down)  fell  with  the  force  he 
had  intended  for  Respectability  upon  his  own 
shin. 

A  train  had  pulled  into  the  station,  and  a  tired, 
travel-worn  young  man,  descending  from  a  sleeper, 
walked  rapidly  up  the  street  to  learn  the  occasion 
of  what  appeared  to  be  a  riot.  When  he  was  close 
enough  to  understand  its  nature,  he  dropped  his 
bag  and  came  on  at  top  speed,  shouting  loudly  to 
the  battered  mongrel,  who  tried  with  his  remaining 
strength  to  leap  toward  him  through  a  cordon 
of  kicking  legs,  while  Eugene  Bantry  again  called 
to  the  policeman  to  fire. 

"If  he  does,  damn  you,  I'll  kill  him!"  Joe  saw 
the  revolver  raised ;  and  then,  Eugene  being  in  his 
way,  he  ran  full- tilt  into  his  stepbrother  with  all 
his  force,  sending  him  to  earth,  and  went  on  lit 
erally  over  him  as  he  lay  prone  upon  the  asphalt, 
that  being  the  shortest  way  to  Respectability. 
The  next  instant  the  mongrel  was  in  his  master's 
arms  and  weakly  licking  his  hands. 

But  it  was  Eskew  Arp  who  had  saved  the  little 
dog ;  for  it  was  his  stick  which  had  tripped  the  clerk, 
and  his  hand  which  had  struck  him  down.  All  his 

297 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

bodily  strength  had  departed  in  that  effort,  but  he 
staggered  out  into  the  street  toward  Joe. 

"Joe  Louden!"  called  the  veteran,  in  a  loud 
voice.  "Joe  Louden!"  and  suddenly  reeled.  The 
Colonel  and  Souire  Buckalew  were  making  their 
way  toward  him,  but  Joe,  holding  the  dog  to  his 
breast  with  one  arm,  threw  the  other  about  Eskew. 

" It's  a  town — it's  a  town" — the  old  fellow  flung 
himself  free  from  the  supporting  arm  — "  it's  a 
town  you  couldn't  even  trust  a  yellow  dog  to!" 

He  sank  back  upon  Joe's  shoulder,  speechless. 
An  open  carriage  had  driven  through  the  crowd, 
the  colored  driver  urged  by  two  ladies  upon  the 
back  seat,  and  Martin  Pike  saw  it  stop  by  the 
group  in  the  middle  of  the  street  where  Joe  stood, 
the  wounded  dog  held  to  his  breast  by  one  arm,  the 
old  man,  white  and  half  fainting,  supported  by  the 
other.  Martin  Pike  saw  this  and  more;  he  saw 
Ariel  Tabor  and  his  own  daughter  leaning  from  the 
carriage,  the  arms  of  both  pityingly  extended  to 
Joe  Louden  and  his  two  burdens,  while  the  stunned 
and  silly  crowd  stood  round  them  staring,  clouds 
of  dust  settling  down  upon  them  through  the  hot 
air. 


XX 

THREE    ARE    ENLISTED 

JOW  in  that  blazing  noon  Canaan  look 
ed  upon  a  strange  sight:  an  open  car 
riage  whirling  through  Main  Street 
behind  two  galloping  bays;  upon  the 
back  seat  a  ghostly  white  old  man 
with  closed  eyes,  supported  by  two  pale  ladies,  his 
head  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  taller;  while  beside 
the  driver,  a  young  man  whose  coat  and  hands 
were  bloody,  worked  over  the  hurts  of  an  injured 
dog.  Sam  Warden's  whip  sang  across  the  horses; 
lather  gathered  on  their  flanks,  and  Ariel's  voice 
steadily  urged  on  the  pace:  "Quicker,  Sam,  if 
you  can."  For  there  was  little  breath  left  in  the 
body  of  Eskew  Arp. 

Mamie,  almost  as  white  as  the  old  man,  was 
silent;  but  she  had  not  hesitated  in  her  daring, 
now  that  she  had  been  taught  to  dare ;  she  had  not 
come  to  be  Ariel's  friend  and  honest  follower  for 
nothing;  and  it  was  Mamie  who  had  cried  to  Joe 
to  lift  Eskew  into  the  carriage.  "  You  must  come 
too,"  she  said.  "We  will  need  you."  And  so  it 

299 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

came  to  pass  that  under  the  eyes  of  Canaan  Joe 
Louden  rode  in  Judge  Pike's  carriage  at  the  bid 
ding  of  Judge  Pike's  daughter. 

Toward  Ariel's  own  house  they  sped  with  the 
stricken  octogenarian,  for  he  was  "alone  in  the 
world,"  and  she  would  not  take  him  to  the  cottage 
where  he  had  lived  for  many  years  by  himself,  a 
bleak  little  house,  a  derelict  of  the  "early  days" 
left  stranded  far  down  in  the  town  between  a 
woollen  -  mill  and  the  water  -  works.  The  work 
men  were  beginning  their  dinners  under  the  big 
trees,  but  as  Sam  Warden  drew  in  the  lathered 
horses  at  the  gate,  they  set  down  their  tin  buckets 
hastily  and  ran  to  help  Joe  lift  the  old  man  out. 
Carefully  they  bore  him  into  the  house  and  laid 
him  upon  a  bed  in  one  of  the  finished  rooms.  He 
did  not  speak  or  move  and  the  workmen  uncovered 
their  heads  as  they  went  out,  but  Joe  knew  that 
they  were  mistaken.  "It's  all  right,  Mr.  Arp," 
he  said,  as  Ariel  knelt  by  the  bed  with  water  and 
restoratives.  "It's  all  right.  Don't  you  worry." 

Then  the  veteran's  lips  twitched,  and  though  his 
eyes  remained  closed,  Joe  saw  that  Eskew  under 
stood,  for  he  gasped,  feebly:  " Pos-i-tive-ly — no — 
free — seats!" 

To  Mrs.  Louden,  sewing  at  an  up-stairs  window, 
the  sight  of  her  stepson  descending  from  Judge 

300 


Pike's  carriage  was  sufficiently  startling,  but  when 
she  saw  Mamie  Pike  take  Respectability  from  his 
master's  arms  and  carry  him  tenderly  indoors, 
while  Joe  and  Ariel  occupied  themselves  with  Mr. 
Arp,  the  good  lady  sprang  to  her  feet  as  if  she  had 
been  stung,  regardlessly  sending  her  work-basket 
and  its  contents  scattering  over  the  floor,  and  ran 
down  the  stairs  three  steps  at  a  time. 

At  the  front  door  she  met  her  husband,  entering 
for  his  dinner,  and  she  leaped  at  him.  Had  he 
seen  ?  What  was  it  ?  What  had  happened  ? 

Mr.  Louden  rubbed  his  chin-beard,  indulging  him 
self  in  a  pause  which  was  like  to  prove  fatal  to  his 
companion,  finally  vouchsafing  the  information  that 
the  doctor's  buggy  was  just  turning  the  corner; 
Eskew  Arp  had  suffered  a  "stroke,"  it  was  said, 
and,  in  Louden 's  opinion,  was  a  mighty  sick  man. 
His  spouse  replied  in  no  uncertain  terms  that  she 
had  seen  quite  that  much  for  herself,  urging  him 
to  continue,  which  he  did  with  a  deliberation  that 
caused  her  to  recall  their  wedding-day  with  a  gust 
of  passionate  self-reproach.  Presently  he  man 
aged  to  interrupt,  reminding  her  that  her  dining- 
room  windows  commanded  as  comprehensive  a 
view  of  the  next  house  as  did  the  front  steps,  and 
after  a  time  her  housewifely  duty  so  far  prevailed 
over  her  indignation  at  the  man's  unwholesome 
stolidity  that  she  followed  him  down  the  hall  to 

301 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

preside  over  the  meal,  not,  however,  to  partake 
largely  of  it  herself. 

Mr.  Louden  had  no  information  of  Eugene's 
mishap,  nor  had  Mrs.  Louden  any  suspicion  that 
all  was  not  well  with  the  young  man,  and,  hearing 
him  enter  the  front  door,  she  called  to  him  that  his 
dinner  was  waiting.  Eugene,  however,  made  no 
reply  and  went  up-stairs  to  his  own  apartment 
without  coming  into  the  dining-room. 

A  small  crowd,  neighboring  children,  servants, 
and  negroes,  had  gathered  about  Ariel's  gate,  and 
Mrs.  Louden  watched  the  working-men  disperse 
this  assembly,  gather  up  their  tools,  and  depart; 
then  Mamie  came  out  of  the  house,  and,  bowing 
sadly  to  three  old  men  who  were  entering  the  gate 
as  she  left  it,  stepped  into  her  carriage  and  drove 
away.  The  new-comers,  Colonel  Flitcroft,  Squire 
Buckalew,  and  Peter  Bradbury,  glanced  at  the 
doctor's  buggy,  shook  their  heads  at  one  another, 
and  slowly  went  up  to  the  porch,  where  Joe  met 
them.  Mrs.  Louden  uttered  a  sharp  exclamation, 
for  the  Colonel  shook  hands  with  her  stepson. 

Perhaps  Flitcroft  himself  was  surprised;  he  had 
offered  his  hand  almost  unconsciously,  and  the 
greeting  was  embarrassed  and  perfunctory;  but 
his  two  companions,  each  in  turn,  gravely  followed 
his  lead,  and  Joe's  set  face  flushed  a  little.  It 
was  the  first  time  in  many  years  that  men  of 

302 


THREE   ARE   ENLISTED 

their  kind  in  Canaan  had  offered  him  this  salu 
tation. 

"He  wouldn't  let  me  send  for  you,"  he  told 
them.  "  He  said  he  knew  you'd  be  here  soon 
without  that."  And  he  led  the  way  to  Eskew's 
bedside. 

Joe  and  the  doctor  had  undressed  the  old  man, 
and  had  put  him  into  night-gear  of  Roger  Tabor's, 
taken  from  an  antique  chest ;  it  was  soft  and  yellow 
and  much  more  like  color  than  the  face  above  it, 
for  the  white  hair  on  the  pillow  was  not  whiter 
than  that.  Yet  there  was  a  strange  youthfulness 
in  the  eyes  of  Eskew;  an  eerie,  inexplicable,  lumi 
nous,  live  look;  the  thin  cheeks  seemed  fuller  than 
they  had  been  for  years;  and  though  the  heavier 
lines  of  age  and  sorrow  could  be  seen,  they  appeared 
to  have  been  half  erased.  He  lay  not  in  sunshine, 
but  in  clear  light;  the  windows  were  open,  the 
curtains  restrained,  for  he  had  asked  them  not  to 
darken  the  room. 

The  doctor  was  whispering  in  a  doctor's  way  to 
Ariel  at  the  end  of  the  room  opposite  the  bed,  when 
the  three  old  fellows  came  in.  None  of  them  spoke 
immediately,  and  though  all  three  cleared  their 
throats  with  what  they  meant  for  casual  cheerful 
ness,  to  indicate  that  the  situation  was  not  at  all 
extraordinary  or  depressing,  it  was  to  be  seen  that 
the  Colonel's  chin  trembled  under  his  mustache, 

303 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

and  his  comrades  showed  similar  small  and  unwill 
ing  signs  of  emotion. 

Eskew  spoke  first.  "Well,  boys?"  he  said,  and 
smiled. 

That  seemed  to  make  it  more  difficult  for  the 
others ;  the  three  white  heads  bent  silently  over  the 
fourth  upon  the  pillow;  and  Ariel  saw  waveringly, 
for  her  eyes  suddenly  filled,  that  the  Colonel  laid 
his  unsteady  hand  upon  Eskew's,  which  was  out 
side  the  coverlet. 

"It's — it's  not,"  said  the  old  soldier,  gently — 
"it's  not  on — on  both  sides,  is  it,  Eskew?" 

Mr.  Arp  moved  his  hand  slightly  in  answer.  "  It 
ain't  paralysis,"  he  said.  "They  call  it  'shock 
and  exhaustion';  but  it's  more  than  that.  It's 
just  my  time.  I've  heard  the  call.  We've  all 
been  slidin'  on  thin  ice  this  long  time — and  it's 
broke  under  me — 

"Eskew,  Eskew!"  remonstrated  Peter  Brad 
bury.  "You'd  oughtn't  to  talk  that-a-way!  You 
only  kind  of  overdone  a  little — heat  o'  the  day, 
too,  and— 

"Peter,"  interrupted  the  sick  man,  with  feeble 
asperity,  "  did  you  ever  manage  to  fool  me  in  your 
life?"  ' 

"No,  Eskew." 

"Well,  you're  not  doin'  it  now!" 

Two  tears  suddenly  loosed  themselves  from 
304 


THREE   ARE   ENLISTED 

Squire  Buckalew's  eyelids,  despite  his  hard  en 
deavor  to  wink  them  away,  and  he  turned  from  the 
bed  too  late  to  conceal  what  had  happened. 
"There  ain't  any  call  to  feel  bad,"  said  Eskew. 
"  It  might  have  happened  any  time — in  the  night, 
maybe — at  my  house — and  all  alone — but  here's 
Airie  Tabor  brought  me  to  her  own  home  and 
takin'  care  of  me.  I  couldn't  ask  any  better  way 
to  go,  could  I?" 

"I  don't  know  what  we'll  do,"  stammered  the 
Colonel,  "if  you — you  talk  about  goin'  away  from 
us,  Eskew.  We — we  couldn't  get  along — " 

"Well,  sir,  I'm  almost  kind  of  glad  to  think," 
Mr.  Arp  murmured,  between  short  struggles  for 
breath,  "  that  it  '11  be — quieter — on  the — "National 
House"  corner!" 

A  moment  later  he  called  the  doctor  faintly  and 
asked  for  a  restorative.  "There,"  he  said,  in  a 
stronger  voice  and  with  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  in 
the  vindication  of  his  belief  that  he  was  dying.  "  I 
was  almost  gone  then.  7  know!"  He  lay  panting 
for  a  moment,  then  spoke  the  name  of  Joe  Louden. 

Joe  came  quickly  to  the  bedside. 

"  I  want  you  to  shake  hands  with  the  Colonel 
and  Peter  and  Buckalew. 

"We  did,"  answered  the  Colonel,  infinitely  sur 
prised  and  troubled.  "We  shook  hands  outside 
before  we  came  in." 

305 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

"Do  it  again,"  said  Eskew.  "I  want  to  see 
you." 

And  Joe,  making  shift  to  smile,  was  suddenly 
blinded,  so  that  he  could  not  see  the  wrinkled  hands 
extended  to  him,  and  was  fain  to  grope  for  them. 

"God  knows  why  we  didn't  all  take  his  hand 
long  ago,"  said  Eskew  Arp.  "I  didn't  because  I 
was  stubborn.  I  hated  to  admit  that  the  argu 
ment  was  against  me.  I  acknowledge  it  now  be 
fore  him  and  before  you — and  I  want  the  word  of 
it  carried!" 

"  It's  all  right,  Mr.  Arp,"  began  Joe,  tremulously. 
"You  mustn't—" 

"Hark  to  me"  —  the  old  man's  voice  lifted 
higher:  "If  you'd  ever  whimpered,  or  give  back- 
talk,  or  broke  out  the  wrong  way,  it  would  of  been 
different.  But  you  never  did.  I've  watched  you 
and  I  know;  and  you've  just  gone  your  own  way 
alone,  with  the  town  against  you  because  you  got 
a  bad  name  as  a  boy,  and  once  we'd  given  you  that, 
everything  you  did  or  didn't  do,  we  had  to  give 
you  a  blacker  one.  Now  it's  time  some  one  stood 
by  you!  Airie  Tabor  '11  do  that  with  all  her  soul 
and  body.  She  told  me  once  I  thought  a  good 
deal  of  you.  She  knew!  But  I  want  these  three 
old  friends  of  mine  to  do  it,  too.  I  was  boys  with 
them  and  they'll  do  it,  I  think.  They've  even 
stood  up  fer  you  against  me,  sometimes,  but  mostly 

306 


THREE   ARE   ENLISTED 

fer  the  sake  of  the  argument,  I  reckon;  but  now 
they  must  do  it  when  there's  more  to  stand  against 
than  just  my  talk.  They  saw  it  all  to-day — the 
meanest  thing  I  ever  knew!  I  could  of  stood  it 
all  except  that!"  Before  they  could  prevent  him 
he  had  struggled  half  upright  in  bed,  lifting  a 
clinched  fist  at  the  town  beyond  the  windows. 
"But,  by  God!  when  they  got  so  low  down  they 
tried  to  kill  your  dog — 

He  fell  back,  choking,  in  Joe's  arms,  and  the 
physician  bent  over  him,  but  Eskew  was  not  gone, 
and  Ariel,  upon  the  other  side  of  the  room,  could 
hear  him  whispering  again  for  the  restorative. 
She  brought  it,  and  when  he  had  taken  it,  went 
quickly  out-of-doors  to  the  side  yard. 

She  sat  upon  a  workman's  bench  under  the  big 
trees,  hidden  from  the  street  shrubbery,  and 
breathing  deeply  of  the  shaded  air,  began  to  cry 
quietly.  Through  the  windows  came  the  quaver 
ing  voice  of  the  old  man,  lifted  again,  insistent,  a 
little  querulous,  but  determined.  Responses  sound 
ed,  intermittently,  from  the  Colonel,  from  Peter, 
and  from  Buckalew,  and  now  and  then  a  sorrow 
ful,  yet  almost  humorous,  protest  from  Joe;  and 
so  she  made  out  that  the  veteran  swore  his  three 
comrades  to  friendship  with  Joseph  Louden,  to  lend 
him  their  countenance  in  all  matters,  to  stand  by 
him  in  weal  and  woe,  to  speak  only  good  of  him 

3°7 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

and  defend  him  in  the  town  of  Canaan.  Thus  did 
Eskew  Arp  on  the  verge  of  parting  this  life  render 
justice. 

The  gate  clicked,  and  Ariel  saw  Eugene  ap 
proaching  through  the  shrubbery.  One  of  his 
hands  was  bandaged,  a  thin  strip  of  court-plaster 
crossed  his  forehead  from  his  left  eyebrow  to  his 
hair,  and  his  thin  and  agitated  face  showed  several 
light  scratches. 

"I  saw  you  come  out,"  he  said.  "I've  been 
waiting  to  speak  to  you." 

"The  doctor  told  us  to  let  him  have  his  way  in 
whatever  he  might  ask."  Ariel  wiped  her  eyes. 
"I'm  afraid  that  means — " 

"I  didn't  come  to  talk  about  Eskew  Arp,"  in 
terrupted  Eugene.  "I'm  not  laboring  under  any 
anxiety  about  him.  You  needn't  be  afraid;  he's 
too  sour  to  accept  his  conge  so  readily." 

"  Please  lower  your  voice,"  she  said,  rising  quick 
ly  and  moving  away  from  him  toward  the  house; 
but,  as  he  followed,  insisting  sharply  that  he  must 
speak  with  her,  she  walked  out  of  ear-shot  of  the 
windows,  and  stopping,  turned  toward  him. 
"Very  well,"  she  said.  "Is  it  a  message  from 
Mamie?" 

At  this  he  faltered  and  hung  fire. 

"Have  you  been  to  see  her?"  she  continued. 
308 


THREE   ARE   ENLISTED 

"  I  am  anxious  to  know  if  her  goodness  and  bravery 
caused  her  any — any  discomfort  at  home." 

"You  may  set  your  mind  at  rest  about  that," 
returned  Eugene.  "  I  was  there  when  the  Judge 
came  home  to  dinner.  I  suppose  you  fear  he  may 
have  been  rough  with  her  for  taking  rny  step 
brother  into  the  carriage.  He  was  not.  On  the 
contrary,  he  spoke  very  quietly  to  her,  and  went 
on  out  toward  the  stables.  But  I  haven't  come 
to  you  to  talk  of  Judge  Pike,  either!" 

"No,"  said  Ariel.  "I  don't  care  particularly  to 
hear  of  him,  but  of  Mamie." 

"  Nor  of  her,  either!"  he  broke  out.  "  I  want  to 
talk  of  you!" 

There  was  not  mistaking  him;  no  possibility  of 
misunderstanding  the  real  passion  that  shook  him, 
and  her  startled  eyes  betrayed  her  comprehension. 

"Yes,  I  see  you  understand,"  he  cried,  bitterly. 
"  That's  because  you've  seen  others  the  same  way. 
God  help  me,"  he  went  on,  striking  his  forehead 
with  his  open  hand,  "that  young  fool  of  a  Brad 
bury  told  me  you  refused  him  only  yesterday !  He 
was  proud  of  even  rejection  from  you!  And  there's 
Norbert — and  half  a  dozen  others,  perhaps,  already, 
since  you've  been  here."  He  flung  out  his  arms 
in  ludicrous,  savage  despair.  "And  here  am  I — " 

"  Ah  yes,"  she  cut  him  off,  "  it  is  of  yourself  that 
you  want  to  speak,  after  all — not  of  me!" 

309 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

"Look  here,"  he  vociferated;  "are  you  going  to 
marry  that  Joe  Louden  ?  I  want  to  know  whether 
you  are  or  not.  He  gave  me  this — and  this  to 
day!"  He  touched  his  bandaged  hand  and  plas 
tered  forehead.  "He  ran  into  me — over  me — for 
nothing,  when  I  was  not  on  my  guard;  struck  me 
down — stamped  on  me — " 

She  turned  upon  him,  cheeks  aflame,  eyes 
sparkling  and  dry. 

"Mr.  Bantry,"  she  cried,  "he  did  a  good  thing! 
And  now  I  want  you  to  go  home.  I  want  you  to 
go  home  and  try  if  you  can  discover  anything  in 
yourself  that  is  worthy  of  Mamie  and  of  what  she 
showed  herself  to  be  this  morning!  If  you  can, 
you  will  have  found  something  that  I  could  like!" 

She  went  rapidly  toward  the  house,  and  he  was 
senseless  enough  to  follow,  babbling:  "What  do 
you  think  I'm  made  of?  You  trample  on  me — as 
he  did!  I  can't  bear  everything;  I  tell  you —  " 

But  she  lifted  her  hand  with  such  imperious  will 
that  he  stopped  short.  Then,  through  the  window 
of  the  sick-room  came  clearly  the  querulous  voice: 

"  I  tell  you  it  was ;  I  heard  him  speak  just  now — 
out  there  in  the  yard,  that  no-account  step-brother 
of  Joe's!  What  if  he  is  a  hired  hand  on  the  Toc 
sin?  He'd  better  give  up  his  job  and  quit,  than 
do  what  he's  done  to  help  make  the  town  think 
hard  of  Joe.  And  what  is  he?  Why,  he's  worse 

310 


THREE   ARE   ENLISTED 

than  Cory.  When  that  Claudine  Fear  first  came 
here,  'Gene  Bantry  was  hangin'  around  her  him 
self.  Joe  knew  it  and  he'd  never  tell,  but  I  will. 
I  saw  'em  buggy -ridin'  out  near  Beaver  Beach 
and  she  slapped  his  face  fer  him.  It  ought  to  be 
told!" 

"I  didn't  know  that  Joe  knew — that!"  Eugene 
stammered  huskily.  "  It  was — it  was — a  long  time 
ago-" 

"If  you  understood  Joe,"  she  said,  in  a  low 
voice,  "you  would  know  that  before  these  men 
leave  this  house,  he  will  have  their  promise  never 
to  tell." 

His  eyes  fell  miserably,  then  lifted  again ;  but  in 
her  clear  and  unbearable  gaze  there  shone  such  a 
flame  of  scorn  as  he  could  not  endure  to  look  upon. 
For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  saw  a  true  light 
upon  himself,  and  though  the  vision  was  darkling, 
the  revelation  was  complete. 

"Heaven  pity  you!"  she  whispered. 

Eugene  found  himself  alone,  and  stumbled  away, 
his  glance  not  lifted.  He  passed  his  own  home 
without  looking  up,  and  did  not  see  his  mother 
beckoning  frantically  from  a  window.  She  ran 
to  the  door  and  called  him.  He  did  not  hear  her, 
but  went  on  toward  the  Tocsin  office  with  his  head 
still  bent. 

«  3" 


XXi 

NORBERT    WAITS    FOR   JOE 

H|HERE  was  meat  for  gossip  a  plenty 
in  Canaan  that  afternoon  and  even 
ing;  there  were  rumors  that  ran 
from  kitchen  to  parlor,  and  rumors 
that  ran  from  parlor  to  kitchen ;  spec 
ulations  that  detained  housewives  in  talk  across 
front  gates ;  wonderings  that  held  cooks  in  converse 
over  shadeless  back  fences  in  spite  of  the  heat; 
and  canards  that  brought  Main  Street  clerks  run 
ning  to  the  shop  doors  to  stare  up  and  down  the 
sidewalks.  Out  of  the  confusion  of  report,  the 
judicious  were  able  by  evenfall  to  extract  a  fair 
history  of  this  day  of  revolution.  There  remained 
no  doubt  that  Joe  Louden  was  in  attendance  at 
the  death-bed  of  Eskew  Arp,  and  somehow  it 
came  to  be  known  that  Colonel  Flitcroft,  Squire 
Buckalew,  and  Peter  Bradbury  had  shaken  hands 
with  Joe  and  declared  themselves  his  friends. 
There  were  those  (particularly  among  the  relatives 
of  the  hoary  trio)  who  expressed  the  opinion  that 

312 


NORBERT   WAITS   FOR   JOE 

the  Colonel  and  his  comrades  were  too  old  to  be 
responsible  and  a  commission  ought  to  sit  on  them ; 
nevertheless,  some  echoes  of  Eskew's  last  "argu 
ment"  to  the  conclave  had  sounded  in  the  town 
and  were  not  wholly  without  effect. 

Everywhere  there  was  a  nipping  curiosity  to 
learn  how  Judge  Pike  had  "taken"  the  strange 
performance  of  his  daughter,  and  the  eager  were 
much  disappointed  when  it  was  truthfully  re 
ported  that  he  had  done  and  said  very  little.  He 
had  merely  discharged  both  Sam  Warden  and 
Sam's  wife  from  his  service,  the  mild  manner  of 
the  dismissal  almost  unnerving  Mr.  Warden,  al 
though  he  was  fully  prepared  for  bird-shot;  and 
the  couple  had  found  immediate  employment  in 
the  service  of  Ariel  Tabor. 

Those  who  humanly  felt  the  Judge's  behavior 
to  be  a  trifle  flat  and  unsensational  were  recom 
pensed  late  in  the  afternoon  when  it  became  known 
that  Eugene  Bantry  had  resigned  his  position  on 
the  Tocsin.  His  reason  for  severing  his  connection 
was  dumfounding;  he  had  written  a  formal  letter 
to  the  Judge  and  repeated  the  gist  of  it  to  his 
associates  in  the  office  and  acquaintances  upon  the 
street.  He  declared  that  he  no  longer  sympathized 
with  the  attitude  of  the  Tocsin  toward  his  step 
brother,  and  regretted  that  he  had  previously  as 
sisted  in  emphasizing  the  paper's  hostility  to  Joe, 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

particularly  in  the  matter  of  the  approaching  mur 
der  trial.  This  being  the  case,  he  felt  that  his  ef 
fectiveness  in  the  service  of  the  paper  had  ceased, 
and  he  must,  in  justice  to  the  owner,  resign. 

"Well,  I'm  damned!"  was  the  simple  comment 
of  the  elder  Louden  when  his  step-son  sought  him 
out  at  the  factory  and  repeated  this  statement  to 
him. 

"  So  am  I,  I  think,"  said  Eugene,  wanly.  "  Good 
bye.  I'm  going  now  to  see  mother,  but  I'll  be  gone 
before  you  come  home." 

"Gone  where?" 

"Just  away.  I  don't  know  where,"  Eugene  an 
swered  from  the  door.  "  I  couldn't  live  here  any 
longer.  I— 

"You've  been  drinking,"  said  Mr.  Louden,  in 
spired.  "You'd  better  not  let  Mamie  Pike  see 
you." 

Eugene  laughed  desolately.  "  I  don't  mean  to. 
I  shall  write  to  her.  Good-bye,"  he  said,  and  was 
gone  before  Mr.  Louden  could  restore  enough 
order  out  of  the  chaos  in  his  mind  to  stop  him. 

Thus  Mrs.  Louden 's  long  wait  at  the  window 
was  tragically  rewarded,  and  she  became  an  un 
happy  actor  in  Canaan's  drama  of  that  day.  Other 
ladies  attended  at  other  windows,  or  near  their 
front  doors,  throughout  the  afternoon:  the  families 
of  the  three  patriarchs  awaiting  their  return,  as 


NORBERT   WAITS   FOR   JOE 

the  time  drew  on,  with  something  akin  to  frenzy. 
Mrs.  Flitcroft  (a  lady  of  temper),  whose  rheuma 
tism  confined  her  to  a  chair,  had  her  grandson 
wheel  her  out  upon  the  porch,  and,  as  the  dusk 
fell  and  she  finally  saw  her  husband  coming  at  a 
laggard  pace,  leaning  upon  his  cane,  his  chin  sunk 
on  his  breast,  she  frankly  told  Norbert  that  al 
though  she  had  lived  with  that  man  more  than 
fifty-seven  years,  she  would  never  be  able  to  under 
stand  him.  She  repeated  this  with  genuine  symp 
toms  of  hysteria  when  she  discovered  that  the 
Colonel  had  not  come  straight  from  the  Tabor 
house,  but  had  stopped  two  hours  at  Peter  Brad 
bury's  to  "talk  it  over." 

One  item  of  his  recital,  while  sufficiently  start 
ling  to  his  wife,  had  a  remarkable  effect  upon  his 
grandson.  This  was  the  information  that  Ariel 
Tabor's  fortune  no  longer  existed. 

"What's  that?"  cried  Norbert,  starting  to  his 
feet.  "What  are  you  talking  about?" 

"  It's  true,"  said  the  Colonel,  deliberately.  "'  She 
told  me  so  herself.  Eskew  had  dropped  oil  into 
a  sort  of  doze — more  like  a  stupor,  perhaps, — and 
we  all  went  into  Roger's  old  studio,  except  Louden 
and  the  doctor,  and  while  we  were  there,  talkin', 
one  of  Pike's  clerks  came  with  a  basket  full  of  tin 
boxes  and  packages  of  papers  and  talked  to  Miss 
Tabor  at  the  door  and  went  away.  Then  old  Peter 

315 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

blundered  out  and  asked  her  point-blank  what  it 
was,  and  she  said  it  was  her  estate,  almost  every 
thing  she  had,  except  the  house.  Buckalew,  tryin' 
to  make  a  joke,  said  he'd  be  willin'  to  swap  his 
house  and  lot  for  the  basket,  and  she  laughed  and 
told  him  she  thought  he'd  be  sorry;  that  all  there 
was,  to  speak  of,  was  a  pile  of  distillery  stock — " 

"What?"  repeated  Norbert,  incredulously. 

"Yes.  It  was  the  truth,"  said  the  Colonel,  sol 
emnly.  "I  saw  it  myself:  blocks  and  blocks  of 
stock  in  that  distillery  trust  that  went  up  higher'n 
a  kite  last  year.  Roger  had  put  all  of  Jonas 's  good 
money— 

"Not  into  that!"  shouted  Norbert,  uncontrolla 
bly  excited. 

"Yes,  he  did.     I  tell  you  I  saw  it!" 

"  I  tell  you  he  didn't.  He  owned  Granger  Gas, 
worth  more  to-day  than  it  ever  was!  Pike  was 
Roger's  attorney-in-fact  and  bought  it  for  him 
before  the  old  man  died.  The  check  went  through 
my  hands.  You  don't  think  I'd  forget  as  big  a 
check  as  that,  do  you,  even  if  it  was  more  than  a 
year  ago?  Or  how  it  was  signed  and  who  made 
out  to  ?  It  was  Martin  Pike  that  got  caught  with 
distillery  stock.  He  speculated  once  too  often!" 

"No,  you're  wrong,"  persisted  the  Colonel.  "I 
tell  you  I  saw  it  myself." 

"Then  you're  blind,"  returned  his  grandson, 
316 


NORBERT   WAITS   FOR   JOE 

disrespectfully;  "you're  blind  or  else — or  else — " 
He  paused,  open-mouthed,  a  look  of  wonder  strug 
gling  its  way  to  expression  upon  him,  gradually 
conquering  every  knobby  outpost  of  his  counte 
nance.  He  struck  his  fat  hands  together.  "  Where's 
Joe  Louden?"  he  asked,  sharply.  "I  want  to  see 
him.  Did  you  leave  him  at  Miss  Tabor's?" 

"  He's  goin'  to  sit  up  with  Eskew.  What  do  you 
want  of  him?" 

"I  should  say  you  better  ask  that!"  Mrs.  Flit- 
croft  began,  shrilly.  "  It's  enough,  I  guess,  for  one 
of  this  family  to  go  runnin'  after  him  and  shakin' 
hands  with  him  and  Heaven  knows  what  not !  Nor- 
bert  Flitcroft  /" 

But  Norbert  jumped  from  the  porch,  ruthlessly 
crossed  his  grandmother's  geranium-bed,  and,  mak 
ing  off  at  as  sharp  a  pace  as  his  architecture  per 
mitted,  within  ten  minutes  opened  Ariel's  gate. 

Sam  Warden  came  forward  to  meet  him. 

"  Don't  ring,  please,  suh,"  said  Sam.  "  Dey  sot 
me  out  heah  to  tell  inquirin'  frien's  dat  po'  ole  Mist' 
Arp  mighty  low." 

"I  want  to  see  Mr.  Louden,"  returned  Norbert. 
"I  want  to  see  him  immediately." 

"I  don'  reckon  he  kin  come  out  yit,"  Sam  said, 
in  a  low  tone.  "But  I  kin  go  in  an'  ast  'em." 

He  stepped  softly  within,  leaving  Norbert  wait 
ing,  and  went  to  the  door  of  the  sick-room.  The 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

door  was  open,  the  room  brightly  lighted,  as 
Eskew  had  commanded  when,  a  little  earlier,  he 
awoke. 

Joe  and  Ariel  were  alone  with  him,  leaning  tow 
ard  him  with  such  white  anxiety  that  the  colored 
man  needed  no  warning  to  make  him  remain  silent 
in  the  hallway.  The  veteran  was  speaking  and 
his  voice  was  very  weak,  seeming  to  come  from  a 
great  distance. 

"It's  mighty  funny,  but  I  feel  like  I  used  to 
when  I  was  a  little  boy.  I  reckon  I'm  kind  of 
scared — after  all.  Airie  Tabor, — are  you — here?" 

"Yes,  Mr.  Arp." 

"  I  thought — so — but  I — I  don't  see  very  well — 
lately.  I — wanted — to — know — to  know — " 

"Yes — to  know?"     She  knelt  close  beside  him. 

"It's  kind  of — foolish,"  he  whispered.  "I  just 
— wanted  to  know  if  you  was  still  here.  It — don't 
seem  so  lonesome  now  that  I  know." 

She  put  her  arm  lightly  about  him  and  he  smiled 
and  was  silent  for  a  time.  Then  he  struggled 
to  rise  upon  his  elbow,  and  they  lifted  him  a 
little. 

"It's  hard  to  breathe,"  gasped  the  old  man. 
"I'm  pretty  near — the  big  road.  Joe  Louden — " 

"Yes?" 

"You'd  have  been — willing — willing  to  change 
places  with  me — just  now — when  Airie — " 


NORBERT   WAITS   FOR   JOE 

Joe  laid  his  hand  on  his,  and  Eskew  smiled  again. 
"I  thought  so!  And,  Joe—" 

"Yes?" 

"  You  always — always  had  the — the  best  of  that 
joke  between  us.  Do  you  —  you  suppose  they 
charge  admission  —  up  there?"  His  eyes  were 
lifted.  *'Do  you  suppose  you've  got  to — to  show 
your  good  deeds  to  git  in?"  The  answering 
whisper  was  almost  as  faint  as  the  old  man's. 

"No,"  panted  Eskew,  "nobody  knows.  But  I 
hope — I  do  hope — they'll  have  some  free  seats. 
It's  a — mighty  poor  show — we'll — all  have — if 
they— don't!" 

He  sighed  peacefully,  his  head  grew  heavier  on 
Joe's  arm;  and  the  young  man  set  his  hand  gently 
upon  the  unseeing  eyes.  Ariel  did  not  rise  from 
where  she  knelt,  but  looked  up  at  him  when,  a  lit 
tle  later,  he  lifted  his  hand. 

"Yes,"  said  Joe,  "you  can  cry  now." 


XXII 

MR.    SHEEHAN   SPEAKS 

IOE  helped  to  carry  what  was  mortal 
of  Eskew  from  Ariel's  house  to  its 
final  abiding  -  place.  With  him,  in 
that  task,  were  Buckalew,  Bradbury, 
the  Colonel,  and  the  grandsons  of  the 
two  latter,  and  Mrs.  Louden  drew  in  her  skirts 
grimly  as  her  step-son  passed  her  in  the  mournful 
procession  through  the  hall.  Her  eyes  were  red 
with  weeping  (not  for  Eskew),  but  not  so  red  as 
those  of  Mamie  Pike,  who  stood  beside  her. 

On  the  way  to  the  cemetery,  Joe  and  Ariel  were 
together  in  a  carriage  with  Buckalew  and  the  min 
ister  who  had  read  the  service,  a  dark,  pleasant- 
eyed  young  man ; — and  the  Squire,  after  being  al 
most  overcome  during  the  ceremony,  experienced 
a  natural  reaction,  talking  cheerfully  throughout 
the  long  drive.  He  recounted  many  anecdotes  of 
Eskew,  chuckling  over  most  of  them,  though  filled 
with  wonder  by  a  coincidence  which  he  and  Flit- 
croft  had  discovered ;  the  Colonel  had  recently  been 

320 


MR.   SHEEHAN   SPEAKS 

made  the  custodian  of  his  old  friend's  will,  and  it 
had  been  opened  the  day  before  the  funeral.  Es- 
kew  had  left  everything  he  possessed — with  the 
regret  that  it  was  so  little — to  Joe. 

"But  the  queer  thing  about  it,"  said  the  Squire, 
addressing  himself  to  Ariel,  "was  the  date  of  it, 
the  seventeenth  of  June.  The  Colonel  and  I  got 
to  talkin'  it  over,  out  on  his  porch,  last  night, 
try  in'  to  rec'lect  what  was  goin'  on  about  then, 
and  we  figgered  it  out  that  it  was  the  Monday 
after  you  come  back,  the  very  day  he  got  so  up 
set  when  he  saw  you  goin'  up  to  Louden's  law- 
office  with  your  roses." 

Joe  looked  quickly  at  Ariel.  She  did  not  meet 
his  glance,  but,  turning  instead  to  Ladew,  the 
clergyman,  began,  with  a  barely  perceptible  blush, 
to  talk  of  something  he  had  said  in  a  sermon  two 
weeks  ago.  The  two  fell  into  a  thoughtful  and 
amiable  discussion,  during  which  there  stole  into 
Joe's  heart  a  strange  and  unreasonable  pain.  The 
young  minister  had  lived  in  Canaan  only  a  few 
months,  and  Joe  had  never  seen  him  until  that 
morning;  but  he  liked  the  short,  honest  talk  he  had 
made;  liked  his  cadenceless  voice  and  keen,  dark 
face;  and,  recalling  what  he  had  heard  Martin 
Pike  vociferating  in  his  brougham  one  Sunday, 
perceived  that  Ladew  was  the  fellow  who  had 
"got  to  go"  because  his  sermons  did  not  please 

321 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

the  Judge.  Yet  Ariel  remembered  for  more  than 
a  fortnight  a  passage  from  one  of  these  sermons. 
And  as  Joe  looked  at  the  manly  and  intelligent  face 
opposite  him,  it  did  not  seem  strange  that  she 
should. 

He  resolutely  turned  his  eyes  to  the  open  window 
and  saw  that  they  had  entered  the  cemetery,  were 
near  the  green  knoll  where  Eskew  was  to  lie  beside 
a  brother  who  had  died  long  ago.  He  let  the  min 
ister  help  Ariel  out,  going  quickly  forward  him 
self  with  Buckalew;  and  then  —  after  the  little 
while  that  the  restoration  of  dust  to  dust  merci 
fully  needs — he  returned  to  the  carriage  only  to 
get  his  hat. 

Ariel  and  Ladew  and  the  Squire  were  already 
seated  and  waiting.  "Aren't  you  going  to  ride 
home  with  us?"  she  asked,  surprised. 

"No,"  he  explained,  not  looking  at  her.  "I 
have  to  talk  with  Norbert  Flitcroft.  I'm  going 
back  with  him.  Good-bye." 

His  excuse  was  the  mere  truth,  his  conversation 
with  Norbert,  in  the  carriage  which  they  managed 
to  secure  to  themselves,  continuing  earnestly  un 
til  Joe  spoke  to  the  driver  and  alighted  at  a  corner, 
near  Mr.  Farbach's  Italian  possessions.  "Don't 
forget,"  he  said,  as  he  closed  the  carriage  door, 
"I've  got  to  have  both  ends  of  the  string  in  my 
hands." 

322 


MR.    SHEEHAN   SPEAKS 

"Forget!"  Norbert  looked  at  the  cupola  of 
the  Pike  Mansion,  rising  above  the  maples  down 
the  street.  "It  isn't  likely  I'll  forget!" 

When  Joe  entered  the  "Louis  Quinze  room" 
which  some  decorator,  drunk  with  power,  had 
mingled  into  the  brewer's  villa,  he  found  the  owner 
and  Mr.  Sheehan,  with  five  other  men,  engaged  in 
a  meritorious  attempt  to  tone  down  the  apartment 
with  smoke.  Two  of  the  five  others  were  pros 
perous  owners  of  saloons;  two  were  known  to  the 
public  (whose  notion  of  what  it  meant  when  it 
used  the  term  was  something  of  the  vaguest)  as 
politicians;  the  fifth  was  Mr.  Farbach's  closest 
friend,  one  who  (Joe  had  heard)  was  to  be  the  next 
chairman  of  the  city  committee  of  the  party. 
They  were  seated  about  a  table,  enveloped  in  blue 
clouds,  and  hushed  to  a  grave  and  pertinent  silence 
which  clarified  immediately  the  circumstance  that 
whatever  debate  had  preceded  his  arrival,  it  was 
now  settled. 

Their  greeting  of  him,  however,  though  exceed 
ingly  quiet,  indicated  a  certain  expectancy,  as  he 
accepted  the  chair  which  had  been  left  for  him  at 
the  head  of  the  table.  He  looked  thinner  and 
paler  than  usual,  which  is  saying  a  great  deal ;  but 
presently,  finding  that  the  fateful  hush  which  his 
entrance  had  broken  was  immediately  resumed, 

323 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

a  twinkle  came  into  his  eye,  one  of  his  eyebrows 
went  up  and  a  corner  of  his  mouth  went  down. 

"Well,  gentlemen?"  he  said. 

The  smokers  continued  to  smoke  and  to  do 
nothing  else;  the  exception  being  Mr.  Sheehan, 
who,  though  he  spoke  not,  exhibited  tokens  of 
agitation  and  excitement  which  he  curbed  with 
difficulty;  shifting  about  in  his  chair,  gnawing  his 
cigar,  crossing  and  uncrossing  his  knees,  rubbing 
and  slapping  his  hands  together,  clearing  his  throat 
with  violence,  his  eyes  fixed  all  the  while,  as  were 
those  of  his  companions,  upon  Mr.  Farbach;  so 
that  Joe  was  given  to  perceive  that  it  had  been 
agreed  that  the  brewer  should  be  the  spokesman. 
Mr.  Farbach  was  deliberate,  that  was  all,  which 
added  to  the  effect  of  what  he  finally  did  say. 

"Choe,"  he  remarked,  placidly,  "you  are  der 
next  Mayor  off  Canaan." 

"Why  do  you  say  that?"  asked  the  young  man, 
sharply. 

"Bickoss  us  here,"  he  answered,  interlocking  the 
tips  of  his  fingers  over  his  waistcoat,  that  being  as 
near  folding  his  hands  as  lay  within  his  power,—- 
"bickoss  us  here  shall  try  to  fix  it  so,  und  so  hef 
ditcided." 

Joe  took  a  deep  breath.  "Why  do  you  want 
me?" 

"Dot,"  replied  the  brewer,  "ir>s  someding  I  shall 
324 


MR.   SHEEHAN   SPEAKS 

tell  you."  He  paused  to  contemplate  his  cigar. 
"We  want  you  bickoss  you  are  der  best  man  fer 
dot  positsion." 

"  Louie,  you  mustn't  make  a  mistake  at  the  be 
ginning,"  Joe  said,  hurriedly.  "I  may  not  be  the 
kind  of  man  you're  looking  for.  If  I  went  in — 
He  hesitated,  stammering.  "  It  seems  an  ungrate 
ful  thing  to  say,  but — but  there  wouldn't  be  any 
slackness — I  couldn't  be  bound  to  anybody— 

"Holt  up  your  hosses!"  Mr.  Farbach,  once  in 
his  life,  was  so  ready  to  reply  that  he  was  able  to 
interrupt.  "Who  hef  you  heert  speak  off  bound 
ing  ?  Hef  I  speakt  off  favors  ?  Dit  I  say  der  shoult 
be  slackness  in  der  city  gofer'ment  ?  Litsen  to  me, 
Choe."  He  renewed  his  contemplation  of  his 
cigar,  then  proceeded :  "  I  hef  been  t'inkin'  it  ofer, 
now  a  couple  years.  I  hef  mate  up  my  mind.  If 
some  peobles  are  gombelt  to  keep  der  laws  and 
oders  are  not,  dot's  a  great  atwantitch  to  der  oders. 
Dot  iss  what  iss  ruining  der  gountry  und  der  peo 
bles  iss  commencement  to  take  notice.  Efer'veres 
in  oder  towns  der  iss  housecleaning ;  dey  are  re 
forming  und  indieding,  und  pooty  soon  dot  mofe- 
ment  comes  here  —  shoo-er !  If  we  intent  to  holt 
der  pardy  in  power,  we  shoult  be  a  leetle  ahead  off 
dot  mofement,  so,  when  it  shoult  be  here,  we  hef 
a  goot  'minadstration  to  fall  beck  on.  Now,  dere 
iss  anoder  brewery  opened  und  trying  to  gombete 

325 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

mit  me  here  in  Canaan.  If  dot  brewery  owns  der 
Mayor,  all  der  tsaloons  buying  my  bier  must  shut 
up  at  'leven  o'glock  und  Sundays,  but  der  oders 
keep  open.  If  I  own  der  Mayor,  I  make  der  same 
against  dot  oder  brewery.  Now  I  am  pooty  sick 
off  dot  ways  off  bitsness  und  fighting  all  times. 
Also,"  Mr.  Farbach  added,  with  magnificent  calm 
ness,  "my  trade  iss  larchly  owitside  off  Canaan, 
und  it  iss  bedder  dot  here  der  laws  shoult  be  en 
forced  der  same  fer  all.  Litsen,  Choe;  all  us  here 
beliefs  der  same  way.  You  are  square.  Der 
whole  tsaloon  element  knows  dot,  und  knows  dot 
all  voult  be  treated  der  same.  Mit  you  it  voult  be 
fairness  fer  each  one.  Foolish  peobles  hef  sait  you 
are  a  law-tricker,  but  we  know  dot  you  hef  only 
mate  der  laws  brotect  as  well  as  bunish.  Und  at 
such  times  as  dey  het  been  broken,  you  hef  made 
dem  as  mertsiful  as  you  coult.  You  are  no  tricker. 
We  are  willing  to  help  you  make  it  a  glean  town. 
Odervise  der  fightin'  voult  go  on  until  der  mofe- 
ment  strikes  here  und  all  der  granks  vake  up  und 
we  git  a  fool  reformer  fer  Mayor  und  der  town  goes 
to  der  dogs.  If  I  try  to  put  in  a  man  dot  I  own, 
der  oder  brewery  iss  goin'  to  fight  like  hell,  but  if 
I  work  fer  you  it  will  not  fight  so  hart." 

"  But  the  other  people,"  Joe  objected, "  those  out 
side  of  what  is  called  the  saloon  element — do  you 
understand  how  many  of  them  will  be  against  me  ?" 

326 


MR.   SHEEHAN   SPEAKS 

"It  iss  der  tsaloon  element,"  Mr.  Farbach  re 
turned,  peacefully,  "dot  does  der  fightin'." 

"And  you  have  considered  my  standing  with 
that  part  of  Canaan  which  considers  itself  the  most 
respectable  section?"  He  rose  to  his  feet,  stand 
ing  straight  and  quiet,  facing  the  table,  upon 
which,  it  chanced,  there  lay  a  copy  of  the  Tocsin. 

"Und  yet,"  observed  Mr.  Farbach,  with  mild 
ness,  "we  got  some  pooty  risbecdable  men  right 
here." 

"Except  me,"  broke  in  Mr.  Sheehan,  grimly, 
"you  have." 

"Have  you  thought  of  this?"  Joe  leaned  for 
ward  and  touched  the  paper  upon  the  table. 

"We  hef,"  replied  Mr.  Farbach.  "All  of  us. 
You  shall  beat  it." 

There  was  a  strong  chorus  of  confirmation  from 
the  others,  and  Joe's  eyes  flashed. 

"Have  you  considered,"  he  continued,  rapidly, 
while  a  warm  color  began  to  conquer  his  pallor, — 
"  have  you  considered  the  powerful  influence  which 
will  be  against  me,  and  more  against  me  now,  I 
should  tell  you,  than  ever  before  ?  That  influence, 
I  mean,  which  is  striving  so  hard  to  discredit  me 
that  lynch-law  has  been  hinted  for  poor  Fear  if  I 
should  clear  him!  Have  you  thought  of  that? 
Have  you  thought — " 

"Have  we  thought  o'  Martin  Pike?"  exclaimed 
327 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

Mr.  Sheehan,  springing  to  his  feet,  face  aflame  and 
beard  bristling.  "Ay,  we've  thought  o'  Martin 
Pike,  and  our  thinkin'  of  him  is  where  he  begins 
to  git  what's  comin'  to  him!  What  d'ye  stand 
there  pickin'  straws  fer?  What's  the  matter  with 
ye?"  he  demanded,  angrily,  his  violence  tenfold 
increased  by  the  long  repression  he  had  put  upon 
himself  during  the  brewer's  deliberate  utterances. 
"If  Louie  Farbach  and  his  crowd  says  they're  fer 
ye,  I  guess  ye've  got  a  chanst,  haven't  ye?" 

"Wait,"  said  Joe.  "I  think  you  underestimate 
Pike's  influence — 

"Underestimate  the  devil!"  shouted  Mr.  Shee 
han,  uncontrollably  excited.  "  You  talk  about  in 
fluence!  He's  been  the  worst  influence  this  town's 
ever  had — and  his  tracks  covered  up  in  the  dark 
wherever  he  set  his  ugly  foot  down.  These  men 
know  it,  and  you  know  some,  but  not  the  worst  of 
it,  because  none  of  ye  live  as  deep  down  in  it  as  I 
do !  Ye  want  to  make  a  clean  town  of  it,  ye  want 
to  make  a  little  heaven  of  the  Beach — 

"And  in  the  eyes  of  Judge  Pike,"  Joe  cut  him 
off,  "and  of  all  who  take  their  opinions  from  him, 
I  represent  Beaver  Beach!" 

Mike  Sheehan  gave  a  wild  shout.  "Whooroo! 
It's  come !  I  knowed  it  would !  The  day  I  couldn't 
hold  my  tongue,  though  I  passed  my  word  I  would 
when  the  coward  showed  the  deed  he  didn't  dare 

328 


MR.   SHEEHAN   SPEAKS 

to  git  recorded!  Waugh!"  He  shouted  again, 
with  bitter  laughter.  "Ye  do!  In  the  eyes  o' 
them  as  follow  Martin  Pike  ye  stand  fer  the  Beach 
and  all  its  wickedness,  do  ye?  Whooroo!  It's 
come!  Ye're  an  offence  in  the  eyes  o'  Martin  Pike 
and  all  his  kind  because  ye  stand  fer  the  Beach, 
are  ye?" 

"You  know  it!"  Joe  answered,  sharply.  "If 
they  could  wipe  the  Beach  off  the  map  and  me 
with  it—" 

"Martin  Pike  would?"  shouted  Mr.  Sheehan, 
while  the  others,  open-mouthed,  stared  at  him. 
"Martin  Pike  would?" 

"  I  don't  need  to  tell  you  that,"  said  Joe. 

Mr.  Sheehan's  big  fist  rose  high  over  the  table 
and*  descended  crashing  upon  it.  "It's  a  damn 
lie!"  he  roared.  "Martin  Pike  owns  Beaver 
Beach!" 


XXIII 

JOE    WALKS    ACROSS    THE    COURT-HOUSE    YARD 

>ROM  within  the  glossy  old  walnut 
bar  that  ran  from  wall  to  wall,  the 
eyes  of  the  lawyers  and  reporters 
wandered  often  to  Ariel  as  she  sat  in 
the  packed  court-room  watching  Lou- 
den's  fight  for  the  life  and  liberty  of  Happy  Fear. 
She  had  always  three  escorts,  and  though  she  did 
not  miss  a  session,  and  the  same  three  never  failed 
to  attend  her,  no  whisper  of  scandal  arose.  But 
not  upon  them  did  the  glances  of  the  members  of 
the  bar  and  the  journalists  with  tender  frequency 
linger;  nor  were  the  younger  members  of  these 
two  professions  all  who  gazed  that  way.  Joe  had 
fought  out  the  selection  of  the  jury  with  the 
prosecutor  at  great  length  and  with  infinite  pains; 
it  was  not  a  young  jury,  and  it  stared  at  her.  The 
"Court"  wore  a  gray  beard  with  which  a  flock 
of  sparrows  might  have  villaged  a  grove,  and  yet, 
in  spite  of  the  vital  necessity  for  watchfulness  over 
this  fighting  case,  It  once  needed  to  be  stirred  from 

330 


JOE   WALKS   ACROSS  THE   YARD 

a  trancelike  gaze  in  Miss  Tabor's  direction  and 
aroused  to  the  realization  that  It  was  there  to  Sit 
and  not  to  dream. 

The  August  air  was  warm  outside  the  windows, 
inviting  to  the  open  country,  to  swimmin'-hole, 
to  orchard  reveries,  or  shaded  pool  wherein  to 
drop  a  meditative  line ;  you  would  have  thought  no 
one  could  willingly  coop  himself  in  this  hot  room 
for  three  hours,  twice  a  day,  while  lawyers  wrangled, 
often  unintelligibly,  over  the  life  of  a  dingy  little 
creature  like  Happy  Fear,  yet  the  struggle  to 
swelter  there  was  almost  like  a  riot,  and  the  bailiffs 
were  busy  men. 

It  was  a  fighting  case  throughout,  fought  to  a 
finish  on  each  tiny  point  as  it  came  up,  dragging, 
in  the  mere  matter  of  time,  interminably,  yet  the 
people  of  Canaan  (not  only  those  who  succeeded 
in  penetrating  to  the  court-room,  but  the  others 
who  hung  about  the  corridors,  or  outside  the  build 
ing,  and  the  great  mass  of  stay-at-homes  who  read 
the  story  in  the  Tocsin)  found  each  moment  of  it 
enthralling  enough.  The  State's  attorney,  fearful  of 
losing  so  notorious  a  case,  and  not  underestimat 
ing  his  opponent,  had  modestly  summoned  others 
to  his  aid ;  and  the  attorney  for  the  defence,  single- 
handed,  faced  "an  array  of  legal  talent  such  as 
seldom  indeed  had  hollered  at  this  bar ' ' ;  faced  it 
good-naturedly,  an  eyebrow  crooked  up  and  his 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

head  on  one  side,  most  of  the  time,  yet  faced  it 
indomitably.  He  had  a  certain  careless  and  dis 
arming  smile  when  he  lost  a  point,  which  carried 
off  the  defeat  as  of  only  humorous  account  and 
not  at  all  part  of  the  serious  business  in  hand ;  and 
in  his  treatment  of  witnesses,  he  was  plausible, 
kindly,  knowing  that  in  this  case  he  had  no  in 
tending  perjurer  to  entrap;  brought  into  play  the 
rare  and  delicate  art  of  which  he  was  a  master, 
employing  in  his  questions  subtle  suggestions  and 
shadings  of  tone  and  manner,  and  avoiding  words 
of  debatable  and  dangerous  meanings ; — a  fine  craft, 
often  attempted  by  blunderers  to  their  own  un 
doing,  but  which,  practised  by  Joseph  Louden, 
made  inarticulate  witnesses  articulate  to  the  pre 
cise  effects  which  he  desired.  This  he  accom 
plished  as  much  by  the  help  of  the  continuous  fire 
of  objections  from  the  other  side  as  in  spite  of 
them.  He  was  infinitely  careful,  asking  never  an 
ill-advised  question  for  the  other  side  to  use  to 
his  hurt,  and,  though  exhibiting  only  a  pleasant 
easiness  of  manner,  was  electrically  alert. 

A  hundred  things  had  shown  Ariel  that  the  feel 
ing  of  the  place,  influenced  by  "public  sentiment" 
without,  was  subtly  and  profoundly  hostile  to  Joe 
and  his  client;  she  read  this  in  the  spectators,  in 
the  jury,  even  in  the  Judge ;  but  it  seemed  to  her 
that  day  by  day  the  inimical  spirit  gradually  failed, 

332 


JOE  WALKS  ACROSS  THE  YARD 

inside  the  railing,  and  also  in  those  spectators  who, 
like  herself,  were  enabled  by  special  favor  to  be 
present  throughout  the  trial,  and  that  now  and 
then  a  kindlier  sentiment  began  to  be  manifested. 
She  was  unaware  how  strongly  she  contributed  to 
effect  this  herself,  not  only  through  the  glow  of 
visible  sympathy  which  radiated  from  her,  but 
by  a  particular  action.  Claudine  was  called  by 
the  State,  and  told  as  much  of  her  story  as  the 
law  permitted  her  to  tell,  interlarding  her  replies 
with  fervent  protestations  (too  quick  to  be  pre 
vented)  that  she  "  never  meant  to  bring  no  trouble 
to  Mr.  Fear"  and  that  she  "  did  hate  to  have  gen'le- 
men  starting  things  on  her  account."  When  the 
defence  took  this  perturbed  witness,  her  inter 
polations  became  less  frequent,  and  she  described 
straightforwardly  how  she  had  found  the  pistol  on 
the  floor  near  the  prostrate  figure  of  Cory,  and 
hidden  it  in  her  own  dress.  The  attorneys  for  the 
State  listened  with  a  somewhat  cynical  amusement 
to  this  portion  of  her  testimony,  believing  it  of  no 
account,  uncorroborated,  and  that  if  necessary  the 
State  could  impeach  the  witness  on  the  ground 
that  it  had  been  indispensable  to  produce  her. 
She  came  down  weeping  from  the  stand;  and,  the 
next  witness  not  being  immediately  called,  the 
eyes  of  the  jurymen  naturally  followed  her  as  she 
passed  to  her  seat,  and  they  saw  Ariel  Tabor  bow 

333 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

gravely  to  her  across  the  railing.  Now,  a  thou 
sand  things  not  set  forth  by  legislatures,  law-men 
and  judges  affect  a  jury,  and  the  slight  salutation 
caused  the  members  of  this  one  to  glance  at  one 
another ;  for  it  seemed  to  imply  that  the  exquisite 
lady  in  white  not  only  knew  Claudine,  but  knew 
that  she  had  spoken  the  truth.  It  was  after  this, 
that  a  feeling  favorable  to  the  defence  now  and 
then  noticeably  manifested  itself  in  the  court 
room.  Still,  when  the  evidence  for  the  State  was 
all  in,  the  life  of  Happy  Fear  seemed  to  rest  in  a 
balance  precarious  indeed,  and  the  little  man, 
swallowing  pitifully,  looked  at  his  attorney  with 
the  eyes  of  a  sick  dog. 

Then  Joe  gave  the  prosecutors  an  illuminating 
and  stunning  surprise,  and,  having  offered  in  evi 
dence  the  revolver  found  upon  Claudine,  produced 
as  his  first  witness  a  pawnbroker  of  Denver,  who 
identified  the  weapon  as  one  he  had  sold  to  Cory, 
whom  he  had  known  very  well.  The  second  wit 
ness,  also  a  stranger,  had  been  even  more  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  dead  man,  and  there  began  to 
be  an  uneasy  comprehension  of  what  Joe  had  ac 
complished  during  that  prolonged  absence  of  his 
which  had  so  nearly  cost  the  life  of  the  little  mon 
grel,  who  was  at  present  (most  blissful  Respectabil 
ity!)  a  lively  convalescent  in  Ariel's  back  yard.  The 
second  witness  also  identified  the  revolver,  testi- 

334 


JOE   WALKS   ACROSS  THE  YARD 

fying  that  he  had  borrowed  it  from  Cory  in  St. 
Louis  to  settle  a  question  of  marksmanship,  and 
that  on  his  returning  it  to  the  owner,  the  latter, 
then  working  his  way  eastward,  had  confided  to 
him  his  intention  of  stopping  in  Canaan  for  the  pur 
pose  of  exercising  its  melancholy  functions  upon 
a  man  who  had  once  "done  him  good"  in  that 
city. 

By  the  time  the  witness  had  reached  this  point, 
the  Prosecutor  and  his  assistants  were  on  their 
feet,  excitedly  shouting  objections,  which  were 
promptly  overruled.  Taken  unawares,  they  fought 
for  time;  thunder  was  loosed,  forensic  bellow- 
ings  ;  everybody  lost  his  temper — except  Joe ;  and 
the  examination  of  the  witness  proceeded.  Cory, 
with  that  singular  inspiration  to  confide  in  some 
one,  which  is  the  characteristic  and  the  undoing 
of  his  kind,  had  outlined  his  plan  of  operations  to 
the  witness  with  perfect  clarity.  He  would  first 
attempt,  so  he  had  declared,  to  incite  an  attack 
upon  himself  by  playing  upon  the  jealousy  of  his 
victim,  having  already  made  a  tentative  effort  in 
that  direction.  Failing  in  this,  he  would  fall  back 
upon  one  of  a  dozen  schemes  (for  he  was  ready  in 
such  matters,  he  bragged),  the  most  likely  of  which 
would  be  to  play  the  peacemaker;  he  would  talk 
of  his  good  intentions  toward  his  enemy,  speaking 
publicly  of  him  in  friendly  and  gentle  ways ;  then, 

335 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

getting  at  him  secretly,  destroy  him  in  such  a 
fashion  as  to  leave  open  for  himself  the  kind  gate 
of  self-defence.  In  brief,  here  was  the  whole  tally 
of  what  had  actually  occurred,  with  the  exception 
of  the  last  account  in  the  sequence  which  had 
proved  that  demise  for  which  Cory  had  not  ar 
ranged  ;  and  it  fell  from  the  lips  of  a  witness  whom 
the  prosecution  had  no  means  of  impeaching. 
When  he  left  the  stand,  unshaken  and  undis- 
credited,  after  a  frantic  cross  -  examination,  Joe, 
turning  to  resume  his  seat,  let  his  hand  fall  lightly 
for  a  second  upon  his  client's  shoulder. 

That  was  the  occasion  of  a  demonstration  which 
indicated  a  sentiment  favorable  to  the  defence  (on 
the  part  of  at  least  three  of  the  spectators) ;  and  it 
was  in  the  nature  of  such  a  hammering  of  canes 
upon  the  bare  wooden  floor  as  effectually  stopped 
all  other  proceedings  instantly.  The  indignant 
Judge  fixed  the  Colonel,  Peter  Bradbury,  and 
Squire  Buckalew  with  his  glittering  eye,  yet  the 
hammering  continued  unabated;  and  the  offend 
ers  surely  would  have  been  conducted  forth  in 
ignominy,  had  not  gallantry  prevailed,  even  in 
that  formal  place.  The  Judge,  reluctantly  realiz 
ing  that  some  latitude  must  be  allowed  to  these 
aged  enthusiasts,  since  they  somehow  seemed  to 
belong  to  Miss  Tabor,  made  his  remarks  general, 
with  the  time  -  worn  threat  to  clear  the  room, 

336 


JOE   WALKS   ACROSS  THE  YARD 

whereupon  the  loyal  survivors  of  Eskew  relapsed 
into  unabashed  silence. 

It  was  now,  as  Joe  had  said,  a  clear-enough  case. 
Only  the  case  itself,  however,  was  clear,  for,  as 
he  and  his  friends  feared,  the  verdict  might  pos 
sibly  be  neither  in  accordance  with  the  law,  the 
facts,  nor  the  convictions  of  the  jury.  Eugene's 
defection  had  not  altered  the  tone  of  the  Tocsin. 

All  day  long  a  crowd  of  men  and  boys  hung 
about  the  corridors  of  the  Court  -  house,  about 
the  Square  and  the  neighboring  streets,  and  from 
these  rose  sombre  murmurs,  more  and  more  omi 
nous.  The  public  sentiment  of  a  community  like 
Canaan  can  make  itself  felt  inside  a  court-room; 
and  it  was  strongly  exerted  against  Happy  Fear. 
The  Tocsin  had  always  been  a  powerful  agent; 
Judge  Pike  had  increased  its  strength  with  a 
staff  which  was  thoroughly  efficient,  alert,  and 
always  able  to  strike  centre  with  the  paper's 
readers;  and  in  town  and  country  it  had  absorbed 
the  circulation  of  the  other  local  journals,  which 
resisted  feebly  at  times,  but  in  the  matter  of  the 
Cory  murder  had  not  dared  to  do  anything  except 
follow  the  Tocsin's  lead.  The  Tocsin,  having  lit 
the  fire,  fed  it — fed  it  saltpetre  and  sulphur — for 
now  Martin  Pike  was  fighting  hard. 

The  farmers  and  people  of  the  less  urban  parts 
of  the  country  were  accustomed  to  found  their 

337 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

opinions  upon  the  Tocsin.  They  regarded  it  as 
the  single  immutable  rock  of  journalistic  right 
eousness  and  wisdom  in  the  world.  Consequently, 
stirred  by  the  outbursts  of  the  paper,  they  came 
into  Canaan  in  great  numbers,  and  though  the 
pressure  from  the  town  itself  was  so  strong  that 
only  a  few  of  them  managed  to  crowd  into  the 
court-room,  the  others  joined  their  voices  to  those 
sombre  murmurs  outdoors,  which  increased  in 
loudness  as  the  trial  went  on. 

The  Tocsin,  however,  was  not  having  every 
thing  its  own  way;  the  volume  of  outcry  against 
Happy  Fear  and  his  lawyer  had  diminished,  it  was 
noticed,  in  "very  respectable  quarters."  The  in 
formation  imparted  by  Mike  Sheehan  to  the  poli 
ticians  at  Mr.  Farbach's  had  been  slowly  seeping 
through  the  various  social  strata  of  the  town,  and 
though  at  first  incredulously  rejected,  it  began  to 
find  acceptance ;  Upper  Main  Street  cooling  appre 
ciably  in  its  acceptance  of  the  Tocsin  as  the  law 
and  the  prophets.  There  were  even  a  few  who 
dared  to  wonder  in  their  hearts  if  there  had  not 
been  a  mistake  about  Joe  Louden;  and  although 
Mrs.  Flitcroft  weakened  not,  the  relatives  of 
Squire  Buckalew  and  of  Peter  Bradbury  began  to 
hold  up  their  heads  a  little,  after  having  made 
home  horrible  for  those  gentlemen  and  reproached 
them  with  their  conversion  as  the  last  word  of 

338 


JOE   WALKS  ACROSS   THE  YARD 

senile  shame.  In  addition,  the  Colonel's  grand 
son  and  Mr.  Bradbury's  grandson  had  both  mys 
tify  ingly  lent  countenance  to  Joe,  consorting  with 
him  openly;  the  former  for  his  own  purposes — the 
latter  because  he  had  cunningly  discovered  that 
it  was  a  way  to  Miss  Tabor's  regard,  which,  since 
her  gentle  rejection  of  him,  he  had  grown  to  be 
lieve  (good  youth!)  might  be  the  pleasantest  thing 
that  could  ever  come  to  him.  In  short,  the  ques 
tion  had  begun  to  thrive :  Was  it  possible  that  Es- 
kew  Arp  had  not  been  insane,  after  all? 

The  best  of  those  who  gathered  ominously  about 
the  Court-house  and  its  purlieus  were  the  young 
farmers  and  field-hands,  artisans  and  clerks;  one 
of  the  latter  being  a  pimply  faced  young  man 
(lately  from  the  doctor's  hands),  who  limped,  and 
would  limp  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  he  who,  of  all 
men,  held  the  memory  of  Eskew  Arp  in  least  re 
spect,  and  was  burningly  desirous  to  revenge  him 
self  upon  the  living. 

The  worst  were  of  that  mystifying,  embryonic, 
semi-rowdy  type,  the  American  voyou,  in  the  pro 
duction  of  which  Canaan  and  her  sister  towns 
everywhere  over  the  country  are  prolific;  the 
young  man,  youth,  boy  perhaps,  creature  of  name 
less  age,  whose  clothes  are  like  those  of  a  brake- 
man  out  of  work,  but  who  is  not  a  brakeman  in 
or  out  of  work;  wearing  the  black,  soft  hat  tilted 

339 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

forward  to  shelter — as  a  counter  does  the  contempt 
of  a  clerk — that  expression  which  the  face  does  not 
dare  wear  quite  in  the  open,  asserting  the  posses 
sion  of  supreme  capacity  in  wit,  strength,  dexterity, 
and  amours ;  the  dirty  handkerchief  under  the  col 
lar;  the  short  black  coat  always  double-breasted; 
the  eyelids  sooty;  one  cheek  always  bulged;  the 
forehead  speckled ;  the  lips  cracked ;  horrible  teeth ; 
and  the  affectation  of  possessing  secret  informa 
tion  upon  all  matters  of  the  universe;  above  all, 
the  instinct  of  finding  the  shortest  way  to  any 
scene  of  official  interest  to  the  policeman,  fireman, 
or  ambulance  surgeon ; — a  singular  being,  not  pro 
fessionally  criminal ;  tough  histrionically  rather  than 
really ;  full  of  its  own  argot  of  brag ;  hysterical  when 
crossed,  timid  through  great  ignorance,  and  there 
fore  dangerous.  It  furnishes  not  the  leaders  but 
the  mass  of  mobs;  and  it  springs  up  at  times  of 
crisis  from  Heaven  knows  where.  You  might  have 
driven  through  all  the  streets  of  Canaan,  a  week 
before  the  trial,  and  have  seen  four  or  five  such 
fellows;  but  from  the  day  of  its  beginning  the 
Square  was  full  of  them,  dingy  shuttlecocks  batted 
up  into  view  by  the  Tocsin. 

They  kept  the  air  whirring  with  their  noise. 
The  news  of  that  sitting  which  had  caused  the 
Squire,  Flitcroft,  and  Peter  Bradbury  to  risk  the 
Court's  displeasure,  was  greeted  outside  with  loud 

340 


JOE   WALKS  ACROSS  THE   YARD 

and  vehement  disfavor;  and  when,  at  noon,  the 
jurymen  were  marshalled  out  to  cross  the  yard 
to  the  "National  House"  for  dinner,  a  large  crowd 
followed  and  surrounded  them,  until  they  reached 
the  doors  of  the  hotel.  "  Don't  let  Lawyer  Louden 
bamboozle  you !"  "  Hang  him !"  "  Tar  and  feathers 
fer  ye  ef  ye  don't  hang  him!"  These  were  the 
mildest  threats,  and  Joe  Louden,  watching  from 
an  upper  window  of  the  Court-house,  observed 
with  a  troubled  eye  how  certain  of  the  jury  shrank 
from  the  pressure  of  the  throng,  how  the  cheeks 
of  others  showed  sudden  pallor.  Sometimes  "  pub 
lic  sentiment"  has  done  evil  things  to  those  who 
have  not  shared  it ;  and  Joe  knew  how  rare  a  thing 
is  a  jury  which  dares  to  stand  square  against  a 
town  like  Canaan  aroused. 

The  end  of  that  afternoon's  session  saw  another 
point  marked  for  the  defence ;  Joe  had  put  the  de 
fendant  on  the  stand,  and  the  little  man  had  proved 
an  excellent  witness.  During  his  life  he  had  been 
many  things  —  many  things  disreputable;  high 
standards  were  not  brightly  illumined  for  him  in 
the  beginning  of  the  night-march  which  his  life 
had  been.  He  had  been  a  tramp,  afterward  a 
petty  gambler;  but  his  great  motive  had  finally 
come  to  be  the  intention  to  do  what  Joe  told  him 
to  do:  that,  and  to  keep  Claudine  as  straight  as  he 
could.  In  a  measure,  these  were  the  two  things 

34i 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

that  had  brought  him  to  the  pass  in  which  he  now 
stood,  his  loyalty  to  Joe  and  his  resentment  of 
whatever  tampered  with  Claudine's  straightness. 
He  was  submissive  to  the  consequences:  he  was 
still  loyal.  And  now  Joe  asked  him  to  tell  "just 
what  happened,"  and  Happy  obeyed  with  crystal 
clearness.  Throughout  the  long,  tricky  cross- 
examination  he  continued  to  tell  "just  what 
happened"  with  a  plaintive  truthfulness  not  to 
be  imitated,  and  throughout  it  Joe  guarded  him 
from  pitfalls  (for  lawyers  in  their  search  after 
truth  are  compelled  by  the  exigencies  of  their  pro 
fession  to  make  pitfalls  even  for  the  honest),  and 
gave  him,  by  various  devices,  time  to  remember, 
though  not  to  think,  and  made  the  words  "come 
right"  in  his  mouth.  So  that  before  the  sitting 
was  over,  a  disquieting  rumor  ran  through  the 
waiting  crowd  in  the  corridors,  across  the  Square, 
and  over  the  town,  that  the  case  was  surely  going 
"Louden's  way."  This  was  also  the  opinion  of 
a  looker-on  in  Canaan — a  ferret-faced  counsellor 
of  corporations  who,  called  to  consultation  with 
the  eminent  Buckalew  (nephew  of  the  Squire), 
had  afterward  spent  an  hour  in  his  company  at 
the  trial.  "  It's  going  that  young  fellow  Louden's 
way,"  said  the  stranger.  "You  say  he's  a  shyster, 
but—" 

"  Well,"  admitted  Buckalew,  with  some  reluc- 
342 


JOE   WALKS   ACROSS   THE   YARD 

tance,  "  I  don't  mean  that  exactly.  I've  got  an 
old  uncle  who  seems  lately  to  think  he's  a  great 
man." 

"I'll  take  your  uncle's  word  for  it,"  returned 
the  other,  smiling.  "I  think  he'll  go  pretty  far." 

They  had  come  to  the  flight  of  steps  which  de 
scended  to  the  yard,  and  the  visitor,  looking  down 
upon  the  angry  crowd,  added,  "If  they  don't  kill 
him!" 

Joe  himself  was  anxious  concerning  no  such 
matter.  He  shook  hands  with  Happy  at  the  end 
of  the  sitting,  bidding  him  be  of  good  cheer,  and, 
when  the  little  man  had  marched  away,  under  a 
strong  guard,  began  to  gather  and  sort  his  papers 
at  a  desk  inside  the  bar.  This  took  him  perhaps 
five  minutes,  and  when  he  had  finished  there  were 
only  three  people  left  in  the  room :  a  clerk,  a  negro 
janitor  with  a  broom,  and  the  darky  friend  who 
always  hopefully  accompanies  a  colored  man  hold 
ing  high  public  office.  These  two  approvingly 
greeted  the  young  lawyer,  the  janitor  handing  him 
a  note  from  Norbert  Flitcroft,  and  the  friend  me 
chanically  "borrowing"  a  quarter  from  him  as  he 
opened  the  envelope. 

"I'll  be  roun'  yo'  way  to  git  a  box  o'  se-gahs," 

laughed  the  friend,  "  soon  ez  de  campaign  open  up 

good.     Dey  all  goin'  vote  yo'  way,  down  on  the 

levee  bank,  but  dey  sho'  expecks  to  git  to  smoke 

93  343 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

a  little  'fo'  leckshun-day !    We  knows  who's  ow 
frien'!" 

Norbert's  missive  was  lengthy  and  absorbing; 
Joe  went  on  his  way,  perusing  it  with  profound 
attention ;  but  as  he  descended  the  stairway  to  the 
floor  below,  a  loud  burst  of  angry  shouting,  out 
side  the  building,  caused  him  to  hasten  toward 
the  big  front  doors  which  faced  Main  Street.  The 
doors  opened  upon  an  imposing  vestibule,  from 
which  a  handsome  flight  of  stone  steps,  protected 
by  a  marble  balustrade,  led  to  the  ground. 

Standing  at  the  top  of  these  steps  and  leaning 
over  the  balustrade,  he  had  a  clear  view  of  half  the 
yard.  No  one  was  near  him;  everybody  was  run 
ning  in  the  opposite  direction,  toward  that  corner 
of  the  yard  occupied  by  the  jail,  the  crowd  cen 
tring  upon  an  agitated  whirlpool  of  men  which 
moved  slowly  toward  a  door  in  the  high  wall  that 
enclosed  the  building;  and  Joe  saw  that  Happy 
Fear's  guards,  conducting  the  prisoner  back  to  his 
cell,  were  being  jostled  and  rushed.  The  distance 
they  had  made  was  short,  but  as  they  reached  the 
door  the  pressure  upon  them  increased  danger 
ously.  Clubs  rose  in  the  air,  hats  flew,  the  whirl 
pool  heaved  tumultuously,  and  the  steel  door  clanged. 

Happy  Fear  was  safe  inside,  but  the  jostlers  were 
outside — baffled,  ugly,  and  stirred  with  the  passion 
that  changes  a  crowd  into  a  mob. 

344 


JOE   WALKS   ACROSS   THE   YARD 

Then  some  of  them  caught  sight  of  Joe  as  he 
stood  alone  at  the  top  of  the  steps,  and  a  great 
shout  of  rage  and  exultation  arose. 

For  a  moment  or  two  he  did  not  see  his  danger. 
At  the  clang  of  the  door,  his  eyes,  caught  by  the 
gleam  of  a  wide  white  hat,  had  turned  toward  the 
street,  and  he  was  somewhat  fixedly  watching  Mr. 
Ladew  extricate  Ariel  (and  her  aged  and  indignant 
escorts)  from  an  overflow  of  the  crowd  in  which 
they  had  been  caught.  But  a  voice  warned  him: 
the  wild  piping  of  a  newsboy  who  had  climbed  into 
a  tree  near  by. 

"Joe  Louden!"  he  screamed.     ''Look  out!" 

With  a  muffled  roar  the  crowd  surged  back  from 
the  jail  and  turned  toward  the  steps.  "Tar  and 
feather  him!"  "Take  him  over  to  the  river  and 
throw  him  in!"  "Drown  him!"  "Hang  him!" 

Then  a  thing  happened  which  was  dramatic 
enough  in  its  inception,  but  almost  ludicrous  in  its 
effect.  Joe  walked  quietly  down  the  steps  and 
toward  the  advancing  mob  with  his  head  cocked 
to  one  side,  one  eyebrow  lifted,  and  one  corner  of 
his  mouth  drawn  down  in  a  faintly  distorted  smile. 

He  went  straight  toward  the  yelling  forerunners, 
with  only  a  small  bundle  of  papers  in  his  hands, 
and  then — while  the  non-partisan  spectators  held 
their  breath,  expecting  the  shock  of  contact — 
straight  on  through  them. 

345 


THE   CONQUEST  OF   CANAAN 

A  number  of  the  bulge-cheeked  formed  the  scat 
tering  van  of  these  forerunners,  charging  with 
hoarse  and  cruel  shrieks  of  triumph.  The  first, 
apparently  about  to  tear  Joseph  Louden  to  pieces, 
changed  countenance  at  arm's  -  length,  swerved 
violently,  and  with  the  loud  cry,  "Head  him  off!" 
dashed  on  up  the  stone  steps.  The  man  next  be 
hind  him  followed  his  lead,  with  the  same  shout, 
strategy,  and  haste ;  then  the  others  of  this  advance 
attack,  finding  themselves  confronting  the  quiet 
man,  who  kept  his  even  pace  and  showed  no  in 
tention  of  turning  aside  for  them,  turned  suddenly 
aside  for  him,  and,  taking  the  cue  from  the  first, 
pursued  their  way,  bellowing:  "Head  him  off! 
Head  him  off!"  until  there  were  a  dozen  and  more 
rowdyish  men  and  youths  upon  the  steps,  their 
eyes  blazing  with  fury,  menacing  Louden's  back 
with  frightful  gestures  across  the  marble  balus 
trade,  as  they  hysterically  bleated  the  chorus, 
"Head  him  off!" 

Whether  or  not  Joe  could  have  walked  through 
the  entire  mob  as  he  had  walked  through  these  is 
a  matter  for  speculation ;  it  was  believed  in  Canaan 
that  he  could.  Already  a  gust  of  mirth  began  to 
sweep  over  the  sterner  spirits  as  they  paused  to 
marvel  no  less  at  the  disconcerting  advance  of 
the  lawyer  than  at  the  spectacle  presented  by  the 
intrepid  dare-devils  upon  the  steps ;  a  kind  of  lane 

346 


JOE   WALKS   ACROSS  THE  YARD 

actually  opening  before  the  young  man  as  he  walked 
steadily  on.  And  when  Mr.  Sheehan,  leading  half 
a  dozen  huge  men  from  the  Farbach  brewery,  un 
ceremoniously  shouldered  a  way  through  the  mob  to 
Joe's  side,  reaching  him  where  the  press  was  thick 
est,  it  is  a  question  if  the  services  of  his  detachment 
were  needed. 

The  laughter  increased.  It  became  voluminous. 
Homeric  salvos  shook  the  air.  And  never  one  of 
the  fire-eaters  upon  the  steps  lived  long  enough 
to  live  down  the  hateful  cry  of  that  day,  "Head 
him  off  /"  which  was  to  become  a  catch-word  on 
the  streets,  a  taunt  more  stinging  than  any  devised 
by  deliberate  invention,  an  insult  bitterer  than  the 
ancestral  doubt,  a  fighting- word,  and  the  great 
historical  joke  of  Canaan,  never  omitted  in  after- 
days  when  the  tale  was  told  how  Joe  Louden  took 
that  short  walk  across  the  Court-house  yard  which 
made  him  Mayor  of  Canaan. 


XXIV 

MARTIN    PIKE   KEEPS   AN    ENGAGEMENT 

[N  hour  later,  Martin  Pike,  looking 
forth  from  the  Mansion,  saw  a  man 
open  the  gate,  and,  passing  between 
the  unemotional  deer,  rapidly  ap 
proach  the  house.  He  was  a  thin 
young  fellow,  very  well  dressed  in  dark  gray,  his 
hair  prematurely  somewhat  silvered,  his  face  pre 
maturely  somewhat  lined,  and  his  hat  covered  a 
scar  such  as  might  have  been  caused  by  a  blow 
from  a  blunt  instrument  in  the  nature  of  a  poker. 
He  did  not  reach  the  door,  nor  was  there  neces 
sity  for  him  to  ring,  for,  before  he  had  set  foot  on 
the  lowest  step,  the  Judge  had  hastened  to  meet 
him.  Not,  however,  with  any  fulsomely  hospitable 
intent;  his  hand  and  arm  were  raised  to  execute 
one  of  his  Olympian  gestures,  of  the  kind  which 
had  obliterated  the  young  man  upon  a  certain  by 
gone  morning. 

Louden  looked  up  calmly  at  the  big  figure  tow 
ering  above  him. 

348 


MARTIN  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT 

"It  won't  do,  Judge,"  he  said;  that  was  all,  but 
there  was  a  significance  in  his  manner  and  a  cer 
tainty  in  his  voice  which  caused  the  uplifted  hand 
to  drop  limply;  while  the  look  of  apprehension 
which  of  late  had  grown  more  and  more  to  be 
Martin  Pike's  habitual  expression  deepened  into 
something  close  upon  mortal  anxiety. 

"Have  you  any  business  to  set  foot  upon  my 
property?"  he  demanded. 

"Yes,"  answered  Joe.     "That's  why  I  came." 

"  What  business  have  you  got  with  me?" 

"Enough  to  satisfy  you,  I  think.  But  there's 
one  thing  I  don't  want  to  do"-— Joe  glanced  at  the 
open  door — "  and  that  is  to  talk  about  it  here — for 
your  own  sake  and  because  I  think  Miss  Tabor 
should  be  present.  I  called  to  ask  you  to  come 
to  her  house  at  eight  o'clock  to-night." 

"You  did!"  Martin  Pike  spoke  angrily,  but 
not  in  the  bull-bass  of  yore;  and  he  kept  his  voice 
down,  glancing  about  him  nervously  as  though 
he  feared  that  his  wife  or  Mamie  might  hear. 
"My  accounts  with  her  estate  are  closed,"  he  said, 
harshly.  "  If  she  wants  anything,  let  her  come 
here." 

Joe  shook  his  head.  "No.  You  must  be  there 
at  eight  o'clock." 

The  Judge's  choler  got  the  better  of  his  uneasi 
ness.  "You're  a  pretty  one  to  come  ordering  me 

349 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

around!"  he  broke  out.  "You  slanderer,  do  you 
suppose  I  haven't  heard  how  you're  going  about 
traducing  me,  undermining  my  character  in  this 
community,  spreading  scandals  that  I  am  the  real 
owner  of  Beaver  Beach — " 

"It  can  easily  be  proved,  Judge,"  Joe  inter 
rupted,  quietly,  "though  you're  wrong:  I  haven't 
been  telling  people.  I  haven't  needed  to — even 
if  I'd  wished.  Once  a  thing  like  that  gets  out  you 
can't  stop  it — ever!  That  isn't  all:  to  my  knowl 
edge  you  own  other  property  worse  than  the  Beach ; 
I  know  that  you  own  half  of  the  worst  dens  in 
the  town:  profitable  investments,  too.  You  bought 
them  very  gradually  and  craftily,  only  showing 
the  deeds  to  those  in  charge — as  you  did  to  Mike 
Sheehan,  and  not  recording  them.  Sheehan's  be 
trayal  of  you  gave  me  the  key ;  I  know  most  of  the 
poor  creatures  who  are  your  tenants,  too,  you 
see,  and  that  gave  me  an  advantage  because  they 
have  some  confidence  in  me.  My  investigations 
have  been  almost  as  quiet  and  careful  as  your  pur 
chases." 

"You  damned  blackmailer!"  The  Judge  bent 
upon  him  a  fierce,  inquiring  scrutiny  in  which,  odd 
ly  enough,  there  was  a  kind  of  haggard  hopeful 
ness.  "And  out  of  such  stories,"  he  sneered, 
"you  are  going  to  try  to  make  political  capital 
against  the  Tocsin,  are  you?" 


MARTIN  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT 

"No,"  said  Joe.  "It  was  necessary  in  the  in 
terests  of  my  client  for  me  to  know  pretty  thorough 
ly  just  what  property  you  own,  and  I  think  I  do. 
These  pieces  I've  mentioned  are  about  all  you 
have  not  mortgaged.  You  couldn't  do  that  with 
out  exposure,  and  you've  kept  a  controlling  inter 
est  in  the  Tocsin  clear,  too — for  the  sake  of  its 
influence,  I  suppose.  Now,  do  you  want  to  hear 
any  more,  or  will  you  agree  to  meet  me  at  Miss 
Tabor's  this  evening?" 

Whatever  the  look  of  hopefulness  had  signified, 
it  fled  from  Pike's  face  during  this  speech,  but  he 
asked  with  some  show  of  contempt,  "Do  you 
think  it  likely?" 

"Very  well,"  said  Joe,  "if  you  want  me  to 
speak  here."  And  he  came  a  little  closer  to  him. 
"  You  bought  a  big  block  of  Granger  Gas  for  Roger 
Tabor,"  he  began,  in  a  low  voice.  "Before  his 
death  you  sold  everything  he  had,  except  the  old 
house,  put  it  all  into  cash  for  him,  and  bought  that 
stock ;  you  signed  the  check  as  his  attorney-in-fact, 
and  it  came  back  to  you  through  the  Washington 
National,  where  Norbert  Flitcroft  handled  it.  He 
has  a  good  memory,  and  when  he  told  me  what  he 
knew,  I  had  him  to  do  some  tracing;  did  a  little 
myself,  also.  Judge  Pike,  I  must  tell  you  that 
you  stand  in  danger  of  the  law.  You  were  the 
custodian  of  that  stock  for  Roger  Tabor;  it  was 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

transferred  in  blank;  though  I  think  you  meant 
to  be  '  legal '  at  that  time,  and  that  was  merely  for 
convenience  in  case  Roger  had  wished  you  to  sell 
it  for  him.  But  just  after  his  death  you  found 
yourself  saddled  with  distillery  stock,  which  was 
going  bad  on  your  hands.  Other  speculations  of 
yours  were  failing  at  the  same  time;  you  had  to 
have  money — you  filed  your  report  as  adminis 
trator,  crediting  Miss  Tabor  with  your  own  stock 
which  you  knew  was  going  to  the  wall,  and  trans 
ferred  hers  to  yourself.  Then  you  sold  it  because 
you  needed  ready  money.  You  used  her  fortune 
to  save  yourself  —  but  you  were  horribly  afraid! 
No  matter  how  rotten  your  transactions  had  been, 
you  had  always  kept  inside  the  law;  and  now  that 
you  had  gone  outside  of  it,  you  were  frightened. 
You  didn't  dare  come  flat  out  to  Miss  Tabor  with 
the  statement  that  her  fortune  had  gone;  it  had 
been  in  your  charge  all  the  time  and  things  might 
look  ugly.  So  you  put  it  off,  perhaps  from  day 
to  day.  You  didn't  dare  tell  her  until  you  were 
forced  to,  and  to  avoid  the  confession  you  sent  her 
the  income  which  was  rightfully  hers.  That  was 
your  great  weakness." 

Joe  had  spoken  with  great  rapidity,  though  keep 
ing  his  voice  low,  and  he  lowered  it  again,  as  he 
continued:  "Judge  Pike,  what  chance  have  you 
to  be  believed  in  court  when  you  swear  that  you 

352 


MARTIN  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT 

sent  her  twenty  thousand  dollars  out  of  the  good 
ness  of  your  heart?  Do  you  think  she  believed 
you?  It  was  the  very  proof  to  her  that  you  had 
robbed  her.  For  she  knew  you!  Do  you  want 
to  hear  more  now?  Do  you  think  this  is  a  good 
place  for  it  ?  Do  you  wish  me  to  go  over  the  de 
tails  of  each  step  I  have  taken  against  you,  to  land 
you  at  the  bar  where  this  poor  fellow  your  paper 
is  hounding  stands  to-day?" 

The  Judge  essayed  to  answer,  and  could  not. 
He  lifted  his  hand  uncertainly  and  dropped  it, 
while  a  thick  dew  gathered  on  his  temples.  In 
articulate  sounds  came  from  between  his  teeth. 

"You  will  come?"  said  Joe. 

Martin  Pike  bent  his  head  dazedly;  and  at  that 
the  other  turned  quickly  from  him  and  went  away 
without  looking  back. 

Ariel  was  in  the  studio,  half  an  hour  later,  when 
Joe  was  announced  by  the  smiling  Mr.  Warden. 
Ladew  was  with  her,  though  upon  the  point  of 
taking  his  leave,  and  Joe  marked  (with  a  sinking 
heart)  that  the  young  minister's  cheeks  were 
flushed  and  his  eyes  very  bright. 

"It  was  a  magnificent  thing  you  did,  Mr.  Lou 
den,"  he  said,  offering  his  hand  heartily;  "I  saw 
it,  and  it  was  even  finer  in  one  way  than  it  was 
plucky.  It  somehow  straightened  things  out  with 

353 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

such  perfect  good  nature ;  it  made  those  people  feel 
that  what  they  were  doing  was  ridiculous." 

"So  it  was,"  said  Joe. 

"Few,  under  the  circumstances,  could  have 
acted  as  if  they  thought  so!  And  I  hope  you'll 
let  me  call  upon  you,  Mr.  Louden." 

" I  hope  you  will,"  he  answered;  and  then,  when 
the  minister  had  departed,  stood  looking  after  him 
with  sad  eyes,  in  which  there  dwelt  obscure  medita 
tions.  Ladew's  word  of  farewell  had  covered  a 
deep  look  at  Ariel,  which  was  not  to  be  mistaken 
by  Joseph  Louden  for  anything  other  than  what 
it  was:  the  clergyman's  secret  was  an  open  one, 
and  Joe  saw  that  he  was  as  frank  and  manly  in 
love  as  in  all  other  things.  "He's  a  good  fellow," 
he  said  at  last,  sighing.  "A  good  man." 

Ariel  agreed.  "And  he  said  more  to  me  than 
he  did  to  you." 

"Yes,  I  think  it  probable,"  Joe  smiled  sorrow 
fully. 

"About  you,  I  mean."  He  had  time  to  fear 
that  her  look  admitted  confusion  before  she  pro 
ceeded:  "He  said  he  had  never  seen  anything  so 
fine  as  your  coming  down  those  steps.  Ah,  he 
was  right!  But  it  was  harder  for  me  to  watch 
you,  I  think,  than  for  you  to  do  it,  Joe.  I  was  so 
horribly  afraid — and  the  crowd  between  us — if  we 
could  have  got  near  you — but  we  couldn't — we — " 

354 


MARTIN  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT 

She  faltered,  and  pressed  her  hand  close  upon 
her  eyes. 

"We?"  asked  Joe,  slowly.  "You  mean  you 
and  Mr.  Ladew?" 

"Yes,  he  was  there;  but  I  mean" — her  voice 
ran  into  a  little  laugh  with  a  beatific  quaver  in  it 
—"I  mean  Colonel  Flitcroft  and  Mr.  Bradbury 
and  Mr.  Buckalew,  too — we  were  hemmed  in  to 
gether  when  Mr.  Ladew  found  us — and,  oh,  Joe, 
when  that  cowardly  rush  started  toward  you, 
those  three — I've  heard  wonderful  things  in  Paris 
and  Naples,  cabmen  quarrelling  and  disappointed 
beggars — but  never  anything  like  them  to-day  — 

"You  mean  they  were  profane?" 

"Oh,  magnificently — and  with  such  inventive 
ness!  All  three  begged  my  pardon  afterwards.  I 
didn't  grant  it — I  blessed  them!" 

"Did  they  beg  Mr.  Ladew's  pardon?" 

"Ah,  Joe!"  she  reproached  him.  "He  isn't  a 
prig.  And  he's  had  to  fight  some  things  that  you 
of  all  men  ought  to  understand.  He's  only  been 
here  a  few  months,  but  he  told  me  that  Judge  Pike 
has  been  against  him  from  the  start.  It  seems  that 
Mr.  Ladew  is  too  liberal  in  his  views.  And  he  told 
me  that  if  it  were  not  for  Judge  Pike's  losing  in 
fluence  in  the  church  on  account  of  the  Beaver 
Beach  story,  the  Judge  would  probably  have  been 
able  to  force  him  to  resign;  but  now  he  will  stay." 

355 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

"He  wishes  to  stay,  doesn't  he?" 

"  Very  much,  I  think.  And,  Joe,"  she  continued, 
thoughtfully,  "  I  want  you  to  do  something  for  me. 
I  want  you  to  go  to  church  with  me  next  Sun 
day." 

"To  hear  Mr.  Ladew?" 

"Yes.     I  wouldn't  ask  except  for  that." 

"Very  well,"  he  consented,  with  averted  eyes. 
"I'll  go." 

Her  face  was  radiant  with  the  smile  she  gave 
him.  "It  will  make  me  very  happy,"  she  said. 

He  bent  his  head  and  fumbled  over  some  papers 
he  had  taken  from  his  pocket.  "  Will  you  listen  to 
these  memoranda?  We  have  a  great  deal  to  go 
over  before  eight  o'clock." 

Judge  Pike  stood  for  a  long  while  where  Joe  had 
left  him,  staring  out  at  the  street,  apparently. 
Really  he  saw  nothing.  Undoubtedly  an  image 
of  blurring  foliage,  cast  -  iron,  cement,  and  turf, 
with  sunshine  smeared  over  all,  flickered  upon  the 
retinas  of  his  eyes ;  but  the  brain  did  not  accept  the 
picture  from  the  optic  nerve.  Martin  Pike  was 
busy  with  other  visions.  Joe  Louden  had  followed 
him  back  to  his  hidden  deeds  and  had  read  them 
aloud  to  him  as  Gabriel  would  read  them  on  Judg 
ment-day.  Perhaps  this  was  the  Judgment-day. 

Pike  had  taken  charge  of  Roger  Tabor's  affairs 
356 


MARTIN  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT 

because  the  commissions  as  agent  were  not  too 
inconsiderable  to  be  neglected.  To  make  the 
task  simpler,  he  had  sold,  as  time  went  on,  the 
various  properties  of  the  estate,  gradually  con 
verting  all  of  them  into  cash.  Then,  the  oppor 
tunity  offering,  he  bought  a  stock  which  paid  ex 
cellent  dividends,  had  it  transferred  in  blank,  be 
cause  if  it  should  prove  to  Roger's  advantage  to 
sell  it,  his  agent  could  do  so  without  any  formal 
delays  between  Paris  and  Canaan.  At  least,  that 
is  what  the  Judge  had  told  himself  at  the  time, 
though  it  may  be  that  some  lurking  whisperer  in 
his  soul  had  hinted  that  it  might  be  well  to  preserve 
the  great  amount  of  cash  in  hand,  and  Roger's 
stock  was  practically  that.  Then  came  the  evil 
days.  Laboriously,  he  had  built  up  a  name  for 
conservatism  which  most  of  the  town  accepted, 
but  secretly  he  had  always  been  a  gambler:  Wall 
Street  was  his  goal;  to  adventure  there,  as  one  of 
the  great  single-eyed  Cyclopean  man-eaters,  his 
fond  ambition ;  and  he  had  conceived  the  distillery 
trust  as  a  means  to  attain  it;  but  the  structure 
tumbled  about  his  ears ;  other  edifices  of  his  crum 
bled  at  the  same  time;  he  found  himself  beset,  his 
solvency  endangered,  and  there  was  the  Tabor 
stock,  quite  as  good  as  gold;  Roger  had  just  died, 
and  it  was  enough  to  save  him. — Save  ?  That  was 
a  strange  way  to  be  remembering  it  to-day,  when 

357 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

Fate  grinned  at  him  out  of  a  dreadful  mask  con 
torted  like  the  face  of  Norbert  Flitcroft. 

Martin  Pike  knew  himself  for  a  fool.  What 
chance  had  he,  though  he  destroyed  the  check  a 
thousand  times  over,  to  escape  the  records  by 
which  the  coil  of  modern  trade  duplicates  and 
quadruplicates  each  slip  of  scribbled  paper  ?  What 
chance  had  he  against  the  memories  of  men? 
Would  the  man  of  whom  he  had  bought,  forget 
that  the  check  was  signed  by  Roger's  agent  ?  Had 
the  bank-clerk  forgotten  ?  Thrice  fool,  Martin  Pike, 
to  dream  that  in  a  town  like  Canaan,  Norbert  or 
any  of  his  kind  could  touch  an  order  for  so  great 
a  sum  and  forget  it!  But  Martin  Pike  had  not 
dreamed  that;  had  dreamed  nothing.  When  fail 
ure  confronted  him  his  mind  refused  to  consider 
anything  but  his  vital  need  at  the  time,  and  he 
had  supplied  that  need.  And  now  he  grew  busy 
with  the  future:  he  saw  first  the  civil  suit  for  resti 
tution,  pressed  with  the  ferocity  and  cunning  of 
one  who  intended  to  satisfy  a  grudge  of  years; 
then,  perhaps,  a  criminal  prosecution.  .  .  .  But  he 
would  fight  it!  Did  they  think  that  such  a  man 
was  to  be  overthrown  by  a  breath  of  air?  By  a 
girl,  a  bank -clerk,  and  a  shyster  lawyer?  They 
would  find  their  case  difficult  to  prove  in  court. 
He  did  not  believe  they  could  prove  it.  They 
would  be  discredited  for  the  attempt  upon  him 

358 


MARTIN  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT 

and  he  would  win  clear;  these  Beaver  Beach  scan 
dals  would  die  of  inertia  presently ;  there  would  be 
a  lucky  trick  in  wheat,  and  Martin  Pike  would  be 
Martin  Pike  once  more;  reinstated,  dictator  of 
church,  politics,  business;  all  those  things  which 
were  the  breath  of  his  life  restored.  He  would 
show  this  pitiful  pack  what  manner  of  man  they 
hounded!  Norbert  Flitcroft.  .  .  . 

The  Judge  put  his  big  hand  up  to  his  eyes  and 
rubbed  them.  Curious  mechanisms  the  eyes.  .  .  . 
That  deer  in  line  with  the  vision — not  a  zebra? 
A  zebra  after  all  these  years  ?  And  yet  .  .  .  curious, 
indeed,  the  eyes!  ...  a  zebra.  .  .  .  Who  ever  heard 
of  a  deer  with  stripes?  The  big  hand  rose  from 
the  eyes  and  ran  through  the  hair  which  he  had 
always  worn  rather  long.  It  would  seem  strange 
to  have  it  cut  very  short.  .  .  .  Did  they  use  clippers, 
perhaps?  .  .  . 

He  started  suddenly  and  realized  that  his  next- 
door  neighbor  had  passed  along  the  sidewalk  with 
head  averted,  pretending  not  to  see  him.  A  few 
weeks  ago  the  man  would  not  have  missed  the 
chance  of  looking  in  to  bow — with  proper  defer 
ence,  too !  Did  he  know  ?  He  could  not  know  this  ! 
It  must  be  the  Beaver  Beach  scandal.  It  must  be. 
It  could  not  be  this — not  yet!  But  it  might  be. 
Howmany  knew  ?  Louden, Norbert,  Ariel — who  else  ? 
And  again  the  deer  took  on  the  strange  zebra  look. 

34  359 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

The  Judge  walked  slowly  down  to  the  gate ;  spoke 
to  the  man  he  had  employed  in  Sam  Warden's 
place,  a  Scotchman  who  had  begun  to  refresh  the 
lawn  with  a  garden  hose ;  bowed  affably  in  response 
to  the  salutation  of  the  elder  Louden,  who  was 
passing,  bound  homeward  from  the  factory,  and 
returned  to  the  house  with  thoughtful  steps.  In 
the  hall  he  encountered  his  wife;  stopped  to  speak 
with  her  upon  various  household  matters;  then 
entered  the  library,  which  was  his  workroom.  He 
locked  the  door;  tried  it,  and  shook  the  handle. 
After  satisfying  himself  of  its  security,  he  pulled 
down  the  window-shades  carefully,  and,  lighting 
a  gas  drop-lamp  upon  his  desk,  began  to  fumble 
with  various  documents,  which  he  took  from  a 
small  safe  near  by.  But  his  hands  were  not  steady ; 
he  dropped  the  papers,  scattering  them  over  the 
floor,  and  had  great  difficulty  in  picking  them  up. 
He  perspired  heavily:  whatever  he  touched  became 
damp,  and  he  continually  mopped  his  forehead 
with  his  sleeve.  After  a  time  he  gave  up  the  at 
tempt  to  sort  the  packets  of  papers;  sank  into  a 
chair  despairingly,  leaving  most  of  them  in  disorder. 

A  light  tap  sounded  on  the  door. 

"Martin,  it's  supper- time." 

With  a  great  effort  he  made  shift  to  answer: 
"Yes,  I  know.  You  and  Mamie  go  ahead.  I'm 
too  busy  to-night.  I  don't  want  anything." 

360 


MARTIN  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT 

A  moment  before,  he  had  been  a  pitiful  figure, 
face  distraught,  hands  incoherent,  the  whole  body 
inco-ordinate,  but  if  eyes  might  have  rested  upon 
him  as  he  answered  his  wife  they  would  have  seen 
a  strange  thing;  he  sat,  apparently  steady  and  col 
lected,  his  expression  cool,  his  body  quiet,  poised 
exactly  to  the  quality  of  his  reply,  for  the  same 
strange  reason  that  a  young  girl  smiles  archly  and 
coquettes  to  a  telephone. 

"  But,  Martin,  you  oughtn't  to  work  so  hard. 
You'll  break  down— 

" No  fear  of  that,"  he  replied,  cheerfully.  "You 
can  leave  something  on  the  sideboard  for  me." 

After  another  fluttering  remonstrance,  she  went 
away,  and  the  room  was  silent  again.  His  arms 
rested  upon  the  desk,  and  his  head  slowly  sank 
between  his  elbows.  When  he  lifted  it  again  the 
clock  on  the  mantel -piece  had  tinkled  once.  It 
\vas  half-past  seven.  He  took  a  sheet  of  note- 
paper  from  a  box  before  him  and  began  to  write, 
but  when  he  had  finished  the  words,  "My  dear 
wife  and  Mamie,"  his  fingers  shook  so  violently 
that  he  could  go  no  further.  He  placed  his  left 
hand  over  the  back  of  his  right  to  steady  it,  but 
found  the  device  unavailing:  the  pen  left  mere 
zigzags  on  the  page,  and  he  dropped  it. 

He  opened  a  lower  drawer  of  the  desk  and  took 
out  of  it  a  pistol;  rose,  went  to  the  door,  tried  it 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

once  more,  and  again  was  satisfied  of  his  seclusion. 
Then  he  took  the  weapon  in  both  hands,  the 
handle  against  his  fingers,  one  thumb  against  the 
trigger,  and,  shaking  with  nausea,  lifted  it  to  the 
level  of  his  eyes.  His  will  betrayed  him ;  he  could 
not  contract  his  thumb  upon  the  trigger,  and, 
with  a  convulsive  shiver,  he  dropped  the  revolver 
upon  the  desk. 

He  locked  the  door  of  the  room  behind  him, 
crept  down  the  stairs  and  out  of  the  front -door. 
He  walked  shamblingly,  when  he  reached  the 
street,  keeping  close  to  the  fences  as  he  went  on, 
now  and  then  touching  the  pickets  with  his  hand, 
like  a  feeble  old  man. 

He  had  always  been  prompt;  it  was  one  of  the 
things  of  which  he  had  been  proud:  in  all  his  life 
he  had  never  failed  to  keep  a  business  engagement 
precisely  upon  the  appointed  time,  and  the  Court 
house  bell  clanged  eight  when  Sam  Warden  opened 
the  door  for  his  old  employer  to-night. 

The  two  young  people  looked  up  gravely  from 
the  script-laden  table  before  them  as  Martin  Pike 
came  into  the  strong  lamplight  out  of  the  dimness 
of  the  hall,  where  only  a  taper  burned.  He  sham 
bled  a  few  limp  steps  into  the  room  and  came  to 
a  halt.  Big  as  he  was,  his  clothes  hung  upon  him 
loosely,  like  coverlets  upon  a  collapsed  bed;  and 
he  seemed  but  a  distorted  image  of  himself,  as  if 

362 


MARTIN  KEEPS  AN  ENGAGEMENT 

(save  for  the  dull  and  reddened  eyes)  he  had  been 
made  of  yellowish  wax  and  had  been  left  too  long 
in  the  sun.  Abject,  hopeless,  his  attitude  a  con 
fession  of  ruin  and  shame,  he  stood  before  his 
judges  in  such  wretchedness  that,  in  comparison, 
the  figure  of  Happy  Fear,  facing  the  court-room 
through  his  darkest  hour,  was  one  to  be  envied. 

"Well,"  he  said,  brokenly,  "what  are  you  going 
to  do?" 

Joe  Louden  looked  at  him  with  great  intentness 
for  several  moments.  Then  he  rose  and  came  for 
ward.  "Sit  down,  Judge,"  he  said.  "It's  all 
right.  Don't  worry." 


XXV 

THE   JURY    COMES   IN 

JRS.  FLITCROFT,  at  breakfast  on 
the  following  morning,  continued  a 
disquisition  which  had  ceased,  the 
previous  night,  only  because  of  a 
provoking  human  incapacity  to  exist 
without  sleep.  Her  theme  was  one  which  had 
exclusively  occupied  her  since  the  passing  of 
Eskew,  and,  her  rheumatism  having  improved  so 
that  she  could  leave  her  chair,  she  had  become  a 
sort  of  walking  serial ;  Norbert  and  his  grandfather 
being  well  assured  that,  whenever  they  left  the 
house,  the  same  story  was  to  be  continued  upon 
their  reappearance.  The  Tocsin  had  been  her  great 
comfort:  she  was  but  one  helpless  woman  against 
two  strong  men ;  therefore  she  sorely  needed  assist 
ance  in  her  attack  upon  them,  and  the  invaluable 
newspaper  gave  it  in  generous  measure. 

"Yes,  young  man,"  she  said,  as  she  lifted  her 
first  spoonful  of  oatmeal,  "you  better  read  the 
Tocsin!" 

364 


THE   JURY  COMES  IN 

"  I  am  reading  it,"  responded  Norbert,  who  was 
almost  concealed  by  the  paper. 

"And  your  grandfather  better  read  it!"  she  con 
tinued,  severely. 

"I  already  have,"  said  the  Colonel,  promptly. 
"Have  you?" 

"No,  but  you  can  be  sure  I  will!"  The  good 
lady  gave  the  effect  of  tossing  her  head.  "And 
you  better  take  what  it  says  to  heart,  you  and 
some  others.  It's  a  wonder  to  me  that  you  and 
Buckalew  and  old  Peter  don't  go  and  hold  that 
Happy  Fear's  hand  durin'  the  trial!  And  as  for 
Joe  Louden,  his  step-mother's  own  sister,  Jane, 
says  to  me  only  yesterday  afternoon,  'Why,  law! 
Mrs.  Flitcroft,'  she  says,  'it's  a  wonder  to  me,' 
she  says,  'that  your  husband  and  those  two  other 
old  fools  don't  lay  down  in  the  gutter  and  let  that 
Joe  Louden  walk  over  'em." 

"Did  Jane  Quimby  say  'those  two  other  old 
fools'?"  inquired  the  Colonel,  in  a  manner  which 
indicated  that  he  might  see  Mr.  Quimby  in  regard 
to  the  slander. 

"I  can't  say  as  I  remember  just  precisely  her 
exact  words,"  admitted  Mrs.  Flitcroft,  "but  that 
was  the  sense  of  'em!  You've  made  yourselves 
the  laughin '-stock  of  the  whole  town!" 

"Oh,  we  have?" 

"And  I'd  like  to  know"  —her  voice  became  shrill 
365 


THE   CONQUEST  OF   CANAAN 

and  goading — "  I'd  like  to  know  what  Judge  Pike 
thinks  of  you  and  Norbert!  I  should  think  you'd 
be  ashamed  to  have  him  pass  you  in  the  street." 

"I've  quit  speaking  to  him,"  said  Norbert,  cold 
ly,  "ever  since  I  heard  he  owned  Beaver  Beach." 

"That  story  ain't  proved  yet!"  returned  his 
grandmother,  with  much  irascibility. 

"Well,  it  will  be;  but  that's  not  all."  Norbert 
wagged  his  head.  "  You  may  be  a  little  surprised 
within  the  next  few  days." 

"I've  been  surprised  for  the  past  few!"  she  re 
plied,  with  a  bitterness  which  overrode  her  satis 
faction  in  the  effectiveness  of  the  retort.  "Sur 
prised!  I'd  like  to  know  who  wouldn't  be  sur 
prised  when  half  the  town  acts  like  it's  gone  crazy. 
People  praisin'  that  fellow,  that  nobody  in  their 
sober  minds  and  senses  never  in  their  lives  had  a 
good  word  for  before!  Why,  there  was  more  talk 
yesterday  about  his  doin's  at  the  Court-house — 
you'd  of  thought  he  was  Phil  Sheridan!  It's  'Joe 
Louden'  here  and  'Joe  Louden'  there,  and  'Joe 
Louden'  this  and  'Joe  Louden'  that,  till  I'm  sick 
&f  the  name!" 

"Then  why  don't  you  quit  saying  it?"  asked  the 
Colonel,  reasonably. 

"Because  it'd  ought  to  be  said!"  she  exclaimed, 
with  great  heat.  "  Because  he'd  ought  to  be  held 
up  to  the  community  to  be  despised.  You  let  me 

366 


THE   JURY  COMES   IN 

have  that  paper  a  minute,"  she  pursued,  vehement 
ly;  "you  just  let  me  have  the  Tocsin  and  I'll  read 
you  out  some  things  about  him  that  '11  show  him 
in  his  true  light!" 

"All  right,"  said  Norbert,  suddenly  handing  her 
the  paper.  "Go  ahead." 

And  after  the  exchange  of  a  single  glance  the 
two  gentlemen  composed  themselves  to  listen. 

"Ha!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Flitcroft.  "Here  it  is  in 
head-lines  on  the  first  page.  'Defence  Scores 
Again  and  Again.  Ridiculous  Behavior  of  a 
Would  -  Be  Mob.  Louden's—  She  paused,  re 
moved  her  spectacles,  examined  them  dubiously, 
restored  them  to  place,  and  continued :  "  '  Louden's 
Masterly  Conduct  and  Well  -  Deserved  —  '  '  she 
paused  again,  incredulous — "  '  Well-Deserved  Tri 
umph—'" 

"Go  on,"  said  the  Colonel,  softly. 

"  Indeed  I  will!"  the  old  lady  replied.  "  Do  you 
think  I  don't  know  sarcasm  when  I  see  it?  Ha, 
ha!"  She  laughed  with  great  heartiness.  "I 
reckon  I  will  go  on!  You  listen  and  try  to  learn 
something  from  it!"  She  resumed  the  reading: 

"  It  is  generally  admitted  that  after  yesterday's 
sitting  of  the  court,  the  prosecution  in  the  Fear- 
Cory  murder  trial  has  not  a  leg  to  stand  on.  Lou 
den's  fight  for  his  client  has  been,  it  must  be  con 
fessed,  of  a  most  splendid  and  talented  order,  and 

367 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

the  bottom  has  fallen  out  of  the  case  for  the  State, 
while  a  verdict  of  Not  Guilty,  it  is  now  conceded, 
is  the  general  wish  of  those  who  have  attended  and 
followed  the  trial.  But  the  most  interesting  event 
of  the  day  took  place  after  the  session,  when  some 
miscreants  undertook  to  mob  the  attorney  for  the 
defence  in  the  Court-house  yard.  He  met  the  at 
tack  with  a  coolness  and  nerve  which  have  won 
him  a  popularity  that — '"  Mrs.  Flitcroft  again 
faltered. 

"Go  on,"  repeated  the  Colonel.  "There's  a 
great  deal  more." 

"Look  at  the  editorials,"  suggested  Norbert. 
"There's  one  on  the  same  subject." 

Mrs.  Flitcroft,  her  theory  of  the  Tocsin's  sarcasm 
somewhat  shaken,  turned  the  page.  "  We  Confess 
a  Mistake"  was  the  rubric  above  the  leader,  and 
she  uttered  a  cry  of  triumph,  for  she  thought  the 
mistake  was  what  she  had  just  been  reading,  and 
that  the  editorial  would  apologize  for  the  incom 
prehensible  journalistic  error  upon  the  first  page. 
"'The  best  of  us  make  mistakes,  and  it  is  well 
to  have  a  change  of  heart  sometimes."  (Thus 
Eugene's  successor  had  written,  and  so  Mrs.  Flit 
croft  read.)  " '  An  open  confession  is  good  for  the 
soul.  The  Tocsin  has  changed  its  mind  in  regard 
to  certain  matters,  and  means  to  say  so  freely  and 
frankly.  After  yesterday's  events  in  connection 

368 


THE  JURY  COMES  IN 

with  the  murder  trial  before  our  public,  the  evi 
dence  being  now  all  presented,  for  we  understand 
that  neither  side  has  more  to  offer,  it  is  generally 
conceded  that  all  good  citizens  are  hopeful  of  a 
verdict  of  acquittal;  and  the  Tocsin  is  a  good 
citizen.  No  good  citizen  would  willingly  see  an 
innocent  man  punished,  and  that  our  city  is  not 
to  be  disgraced  by  such  a  miscarriage  of  justice  is 
due  to  the  efforts  of  the  attorney  for  the  defend 
ant,  who  has  gained  credit  not  only  by  his  masterly 
management  of  this  case,  but  by  his  splendid  con 
duct  in  the  face  of  danger  yesterday  afternoon. 
He  has  distinguished  himself  so  greatly  that  we 
frankly  assert  that  our  citizens  may  point  with 
pride  to—  Mrs.  Flitcroft's  voice,  at  the  begin 
ning  pitched  to  a  high  exultation,  had  gradually 
lowered  in  key  and  dropped  down  the  scale  till 
it  disappeared  altogether. 

"  It's  a  wonder  to  me,"  the  Colonel  began,  "that 
the  Tocsin  doesn't  go  and  hold  Joe  Louden's 
hand." 

"I'll  read  the  rest  of  it  for  you,"  said  Norbert, 
his  heavy  face  lighting  up  with  cruelty.  "Let's 
see  —  where  were  you  ?  Oh  yes  —  '  point  with 
pride'  ?  '  Our  citizens  may  point  with  pride  to  ..." 

Let  us  not  linger  to  observe  the  unmanly  be 
havior  of  an  aged  man  and  his  grandson  left  alone 
at  the  breakfast-table  by  a  defenceless  woman. 

369 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

The  Tocsin's  right-about-face  undermined  others 
besides  Mrs.  Flitcroft  that  morning,  and  rejoiced 
greater  (though  not  better)  men  than  the  Colonel. 
Mr.  Farbach  and  his  lieutenants  smiled,  yet  stared, 
amazed,  wondering  what  had  happened.  That 
was  a  thing  which  only  three  people  even  certainly 
knew ;  yet  it  was  very  simple. 

The  Tocsin  was  part  of  the  Judge's  restitution. 

"The  controlling  interest  in  the  paper,  together 
with  the  other  property  I  have  listed,"  Joe  had 
said,  studying  his  memoranda  under  the  lamp  in 
Roger's  old  studio,  while  Martin  Pike  listened  with 
his  head  in  his  hands,  "make  up  what  Miss  Tabor 
is  willing  to  accept.  As  I  estimate  it,  their  total 
value  is  between  a  third  and  a  half  of  that  of  the 
stock  which  belonged  to  her." 

"  But  this  boy— this  Flitcroft,"  said  Pike,  feebly; 
"  he  might— " 

"He  will  do  nothing,"  interrupted  Joe.  "The 
case  is  'settled  out  of  court,'  and  even  if  he  were 
disposed  to  harass  you,  he  could  hardly  hope  to 
succeed,  since  Miss  Tabor  declines  either  to  sue 
or  to  prosecute." 

The  Judge  winced  at  the  last  word.  "Yes — yes, 
I  know;  but  he  might — he  might — tell." 

"I  think  Miss  Tabor's  influence  will  prevent. 
If  it  should  not — well,  you're  not  in  a  desperate 
case  by  any  means;  you're  involved,  but  far  from 

37o 


THE   JURY  COMES  IN 

stripped;  in  time  you  may  be  as  sound  as  ever. 
And  if  Norbert  tells,  there's  nothing  for  you  to  do 
but  to  live  it  down."  A  faint  smile  played  upon 
Joe's  lips  as  he  lifted  his  head  and  looked  at  the 
other.  "  It  can  be  done,  I  think." 

It  was  then  that  Ariel,  complaining  of  the  warmth 
of  the  evening,  thought  it  possible  that  Joe  might 
find  her  fan  upon  the  porch,  and  as  he  departed, 
whispered  hurriedly:  "Judge  Pike,  I'm  not  tech 
nically  in  control  of  the  Tocsin,  but  haven't  I  the 
right  to  control  its  policy?" 

"I  understand,"  he  muttered.  "You  mean 
about  Louden — about  this  trial — " 

"That  is  why  I  have  taken  the  paper." 

"You  want  all  that  changed,  you  mean?" 

She  nodded  decisively.  "  From  this  instant. 
Before  morning." 

"  Oh,  well,  I'll  go  down  there  and  give  the  word." 
He  rubbed  his  eyes  wearily  with  big  thumbs. 
"  I'm  through  fighting.  I'm  done.  Besides,  what's 
the  use?  There's  nothing  more  to  fight." 

"Now,  Judge,"  Joe  said,  as  he  came  in  briskly, 
"we'll  go  over  the  list  of  that  unencumbered  prop 
erty,  if  you  will." 

This  unencumbered  property  consisted  of  Beaver 
Beach  and  those  other  belongings  of  the  Judge 
which  he  had  not  dared  to  mortgage.  Joe  had 
somehow  explained  their  nature  to  Ariel,  and 

37i 


THE  CONQUEST  OF   CANAAN 

these  with  the  Tocsin  she  had  elected  to  accept 
in  restitution. 

"You  told  me  once  that  I  ought  to  look  after 
my  own  property,  and  now  I  will.  Don't  you  see  ?" 
she  cried  to  Joe,  eagerly.  "It's  my  work!"  She 
resolutely  set  aside  every  other  proposition;  and 
this  was  the  quality  of  mercy  which  Martin  Pike 
found  that  night. 

There  was  a  great  crowd  to  hear  Joe's  summing- 
up  at  the  trial,  and  those  who  succeeded  in  getting 
into  the  court-room  declared  that  it  was  worth  the 
struggle.  He  did  not  orate,  he  did  not  "thunder 
at  the  jury,"  nor  did  he  slyly  natter  them;  he  did 
not  overdo  the  confidential,  nor  seem  so  secure 
of  understanding  beforehand  what  their  verdict 
would  be  that  they  felt  an  instinctive  desire  to 
fool  him.  He  talked  colloquially  but  clearly, 
without  appeal  to  the  pathetic  and  without  gar 
nitures,  not  mentioning  sunsets,  birds,  oceans, 
homes,  the  glorious  old  State,  or  the  happiness  of 
liberty;  but  he  made  everybody  in  the  room  quite 
sure  that  Happy  Fear  had  fired  the  shot  which 
killed  Cory  to  save  his  own  life.  And  that,  as  Mr. 
Bradbury  remarked  to  the  Colonel,  was  "  what  Joe 
was  there  for!" 

Ariel's  escort  was  increased  to  four  that  day: 
Mr.  Ladew  sat  beside  her,  and  there  were  times 

373 


THE   JURY  COMES   IN 

when  Joe  kept  his  mind  entirely  to  the  work  in 
hand  only  by  an  effort,  but  he  always  succeeded. 
The  sight  of  the  pale  and  worshipping  face  of 
Happy  Fear  from  the  corner  of  his  eye  was  enough 
to  insure  that.  And  people  who  could  not  get 
near  the  doors,  asking  those  who  could,  "What's 
he  doin'  now?"  were  answered  by  variations  of  the 
one  formula,  "Oh,  jest  walkin'  away  with  it!" 

Once  the  court-room  was  disturbed  and  set  in 
an  uproar  which  even  the  Judge's  customary 
threat  failed  to  subdue.  Joe  had  been  talking  very 
rapidly,  and  having  turned  the  point  he  was  mak 
ing  with  perfect  dexterity,  the  jury  listening  eager 
ly,  stopped  for  a  moment  to  take  a  swallow  of 
water.  A  voice  rose  over  the  low  hum  of  the 
crowd  in  a  delirious  chuckle:  "Why  don't  some 
body  'head  him  off!"'  The  room  instantly  rocked 
with  laughter,  under  cover  of  which  the  identity 
of  the  sacrilegious  chuckler  was  not  discovered, 
but  the  voice  was  the  voice  of  Buckalew,  who  was 
incredibly  surprised  to  find  that  he  had  spoken 
aloud. 

The  jury  were  "out,"  after  the  case  had  been 
given  to  them,  seventeen  minutes  and  thirty  sec 
onds  by  the  watch  Claudine  held  in  her  hand.  The 
little  man,  whose  fate  was  now  on  the  knees  of  the 
gods,  looked  pathetically  at  the  foreman  and 
then  at  the  face  of  his  lawyer  and  began  to  shake 

373 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

violently,  but  not  with  fright.  He  had  gone  to 
the  jail  on  Joe's  word,  as  a  good  dog  goes  where 
his  master  bids,  trustfully;  and  yet  Happy  had 
not  been  able  to  keep  his  mind  from  considering 
the  horrible  chances.  "Don't  worry,"  Joe  had 
said.  "It's  all  right.  I'll  see  you  through." 
And  he  had  kept  his  word. 

The  little  man  was  cleared. 

It  took  Happy  a  long  time  to  get  through  what 
he  had  to  say  to  his  attorney  in  the  anteroom, 
and  even  then,  of  course,  he  did  not  manage  to  put 
it  in  words,  for  he  had  "broken  down"  with  sheer 
gratitude.  "Why,  damn  me,  Joe,"  he  sobbed, 
"if  ever  I — if  ever  you — well,  by  God!  if  you 
ever —  This  was  the  substance  of  his  lingual 
accomplishment  under  the  circumstances.  But 
Claudine  threw  her  arms  around  poor  Joe's  neck 
and  kissed  him. 

Many  people  were  waiting  to  shake  hands  with 
Joe  and  congratulate  him.  The  trio,  taking  ad 
vantage  of  seats  near  the  rail,  had  already  done 
that  (somewhat  uproariously)  before  he  had  fol 
lowed  Happy,  and  so  had  Ariel  and  Ladew,  both, 
necessarily,  rather  hurriedly.  But  in  the  cor 
ridors  he  found,  when  he  came  out  of  the  ante 
room,  clients,  acquaintances,  friends:  old  friends, 
new  friends,  and  friends  he  had  never  seen  before 
— everybody  beaming  upon  him  and  wringing  his 

374 


THE   JURY  COMES   IN 

hand,  as  if  they  had  been  sure  of  it  all  from  the 
start. 

"Know  him?"  said  one  to  another.  "Why,  I've 
knowed  him  sence  he  was  that  high!  Smart  little 
feller  he  was,  too!"  This  was  a  total  stranger. 

"I  said,  years  ago" — thus  Mr.  Brown,  the  "Na 
tional  House"  clerk,  proving  his  prophetic  vision 
—"that  he'd  turn  out  to  be  a  big  man  some  day." 

They  gathered  round  him  if  he  stopped  for  an 
instant,  and  crowded  after  him  admiringly  when 
he  went  on  again,  making  his  progress  slow.  When 
he  finally  came  out  of  the  big  doors  into  the  sun 
shine,  there  were  as  many  people  in  the  yard  as 
there  had  been  when  he  stood  in  the  same  place 
and  watched  the  mob  rushing  his  client's  guards. 
But  to-day  their  temper  was  different,  and  as  he 
paused  a  moment,  looking  down  on  the  upturned, 
laughing  faces,  with  a  hundred  jocular  and  con 
gratulatory  salutations  shouted  up  at  him,  some 
body  started  a  cheer,  and  it  was  taken  up  with 
thunderous  good- will. 

There  followed  the  interrogation  customary  in 
such  emergencies,  and  the  anxious  inquirer  was 
informed  by  four  or  five  hundred  people  simultane 
ously  that  Joe  Louden  was  all  right. 

"Head  him  off!"  bellowed  Mike  Sheehan,  sud 
denly  darting  up  the  steps.  The  shout  increased, 
and  with  good  reason,  for  he  stepped  quickly  back 

375 


THE   CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

within  the  doors ;  and,  retreating  through  the  build 
ing,  made  good  his  escape  by  a  basement  door. 

He  struck  off  into  a  long  detour,  but  though  he 
managed  to  evade  the  crowd,  he  had  to  stop  and 
shake  hands  with  every  third  person  he  met.  As 
he  came  out  upon  Main  Street  again,  he  encoun 
tered  his  father. 

"Howdy  do,  Joe?"  said  this  laconic  person,  and 
offered  his  hand.  They  shook,  briefly.  "Well," 
he  continued,  rubbing  his  beard,  "how  are  ye?" 

"All  right,  father,  I  think." 

"Satisfied  with  the  verdict?" 

"I'd  be  pretty  hard  to  please  if  I  weren't,"  Joe 
laughed. 

Mr.  Louden  rubbed  his  beard  again.  "  I  was 
there,"  he  said,  without  emotion. 

"At  the  trial,  you  mean?" 

"Yes."  He  offered  his  hand  once  more,  and 
again  they  shook.  "Well,  come  around  and  see 
us,"  he  said. 

"Thank  you.     I  will." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Louden,  "good-day,  Joe." 

"Good-day,  father." 

The  young  man  stood  looking  after  him  with  a 
curious  smile.  Then  he  gave  a  slight  start.  Far 
up  the  street  he  saw  two  figures,  one  a  lady's,  in 
white,  with  a  wide  white  hat;  the  other  a  man's, 

376 


THE    JURY   COMES   IN 

wearing  recognizably  clerical  black.     They  seemed 
to  be  walking  very  slowly. 

It  had  been  a  day  of  triumph  for  Joe;  but  in 
all  his  life  he  never  slept  worse  than  he  did  that 
night. 


XXVI 

"ANCIENT  OF  DAYS" 

woke  to  the  chiming  of  bells,  and, 
as  his  eyes  slowly  opened,  the  sor 
rowful  people  of  a  dream,  who  seemed 
to  be  bending  over  him,  weeping, 
swam  back  into  the  darkness  of  the 
night  whence  they  had  come,  and  returned  to  the 
imperceptible,  leaving  their  shadows  in  his  heart. 
Slowly  he  rose,  stumbled  into  the  outer  room,  and 
released  the  fluttering  shade;  but  the  sunshine, 
springing  like  a  golden  lover  through  the  open 
window,  only  dazzled  him,  and  found  no  answer 
ing  gladness  to  greet  it,  nor  joy  in  the  royal  day  it 
heralded. 

And  yet,  to  the  newly  cleaned  boys  on  their 
way  to  midsummer  morning  Sunday-school,  the 
breath  of  that  cool  August  day  was  as  sweet  as 
stolen  apples.  No  doubt  the  stir  of  far,  green 
thickets  and  the  twinkle  of  silver-slippered  creeks 
shimmered  in  the  longing  vision  of  their  minds' 
eyes;  even  so,  they  were  merry.  But  Joseph 

378 


"ANCIENT  OF  DAYS" 

Louden,  sighing  as  he  descended  his  narrow  stairs, 
with  the  bitterness  still  upon  his  lips  of  the  fright 
ful  coffee  he  had  made,  heard  the  echo  of  their 
laughter  with  wonder. 

It  would  be  an  hour  at  least  before  time  to  start 
to  church,  when  Ariel  expected  him ;  he  stared  ab 
sently  up  the  street,  then  down,  and,  after  that, 
began  slowly  to  walk  in  the  latter  direction,  with 
no  very  active  consciousness,  or  care,  of  where  he 
went.  He  had  fallen  into  a  profound  reverie,  so 
deep  that  when  he  had  crossed  the  bridge  and 
turned  into  a  dusty  road  which  ran  along  the 
river -bank,  he  stopped  mechanically  beside  the 
trunk  of  a  fallen  sycamore,  and,  lifting  his  head, 
for  the  first  time  since  he  had  set  out,  looked 
about  him  with  a  melancholy  perplexity,  a  little 
surprised  to  find  himself  there. 

For  this  was  the  spot  where  he  had  first  seen  the 
new  Ariel,  and  on  that  fallen  sycamore  they  had 
sat  together.  "Remember,  across  Main  Street 
bridge  at  noon!"  And  Joe's  cheeks  burned,  as  he 
recalled  why  he  had  not  understood  the  clear 
voice  that  had  haunted  him.  But  that  shame  had 
fallen  from  him;  she  had  changed  all  that,  as  she 
had  changed  so  many  things.  He  sank  down  in 
the  long  grass,  with  his  back  against  the  log,  and 
stared  out  over  the  fields  of  tall  corn,  shaking  in 
a  steady  wind  all  the  way  to  the  horizon. 

379 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

"Changed  so  many  things?"  he  said,  half  aloud. 
"Everything!"  Ah,  yes,  she  had  changed  the 
whole  world  for  Joseph  Louden — at  his  first  sight 
of  her!  And  now  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  to 
lose  her,  but  not  in  the  way  he  had  thought. 

Almost  from  the  very  first,  he  had  the  feeling 
that  nothing  so  beautiful  as  that  she  should  stay 
in  Canaan  could  happen  to  him.  He  was  sure  that 
she  was  but  for  the  little  while,  that  her  coming 
was  like  the  flying  petals  of  which  he  had  told  her. 

He  had  lain  upon  the  earth;  and  she  had  lifted 
him  up.  For  a  moment  he  had  felt  the  beatific 
wings  enfolding  him  with  gentle  protection,  and 
then  saw  them  lifted  to  bear  the  angel  beyond  his 
sight.  For  it  was  incredible  that  the  gods  so 
loved  Joe  Louden  that  they  would  make  greater 
gifts  to  him  than  this  little  time  with  her  which 
they  had  granted  him. 

"Changed  so  many  things?" 

The  bars  that  had  been  between  him  and  half 
of  his  world  were  down,  shattered,  never  more  to 
be  replaced;  and  the  ban  of  Canaan  was  lifted. 
Could  this  have  been,  save  for  her?  And  upon 
that  thought  he  got  to  his  feet,  uttering  an  excla 
mation  of  bitter  self  -  reproach,  asking  himself 
angrily  what  he  was  doing.  He  knew  how  much 
she  gave  him,  what  full  measure  of  her  affection! 
Was  not  that  enough? — Out  upon  you,  Louden! 

380 


"ANCIENT  OF  DAYS  " 

Are  you  to  sulk  in  your  tent,  dour  in  the  gloom, 
or  to  play  a  man's  part,  and  if  she  be  happy,  turn 
a  cheery  face  upon  her  joy? 

And  thus  this  pilgrim  recrossed  the  bridge, 
emerging  to  the  street  with  his  head  up,  smiling, 
and  his  shoulders  thrown  back  so  that  none  might 
see  the  burden  he  carried. 

Ariel  was  waiting  on  the  porch  for  him.  She 
wore  the  same  dress  she  had  worn  that  Sunday  of 
their  tryst;  that  exquisite  dress,  with  the  faint 
lavender  overtint,  like  the  tender  colors  of  the 
beautiful  day  he  made  his  own.  She  had  not  worn 
it  since,  and  he  was  far  distant  when  he  caught  the 
first  flickering  glimpse  of  her  through  the  lower 
branches  of  the  maples,  but  he  remembered.  .  .  . 
And  again,  as  on  that  day,  he  heard  a  far-away, 
ineffable  music,  the  Elf-land  horns,  sounding  the 
mysterious  reveille  which  had  wakened  his  soul  to 
her  coming. 

She  came  to  the  gate  to  meet  him,  and  gave  him 
her  hand  in  greeting,  without  a  word — or  the  need 
of  one — from  either.  Then  together  they  set  forth 
over  the  sun-flecked  pavement,  the  maples  swish 
ing  above  them,  heavier  branches  crooning  in  the 
strong  breeze,  under  a  sky  like  a  Delia  Robbia 
background.  And  up  against  the  glorious  blue  of 
it,  some  laughing,  invisible  god  was  blowing  small, 

381 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

rounded  clouds  of  pure  cotton,  as  children  blow 
thistledown. 

When  he  opened  her  parasol,  as  they  came  out 
into  the  broad  sunshine  beyond  Upper  Main  Street, 
there  was  the  faintest  mingling  of  wild  roses  and 
cinnamon  loosed  on  the  air. 

"Joe,"  she  said,  "I'm  very  happy!" 
"That's  right,"  he  returned,  heartily.     "I  think 
you  always  will  be." 

"But,  oh!  I  wish,"  she  went  on,  "that  Mr.  Arp 
could  have  lived  to  see  you  come  down  the  Court 
house  steps." 

"God  bless  him!"  said  Joe.  "I  can  hear  the 
'argument'!" 

"Those  dear  old  men  have  been  so  loyal  to  you, 
Joe." 

"No,"  he  returned;  "loyal  to  Eskew." 
"To  you  both,"  she  said.     "I'm  afraid  the  old 
circle  is  broken  up;  they  haven't  met  on  the  'Na 
tional  House'  corner  since  he  died.     The  Colonel 
told  me  he  couldn't  bear  to  go  there  again." 

"I  don't  believe  any  of  them  ever  will,"  he  re 
turned.  "And  yet  I  never  pass  the  place  that  I 
don't  see  Eskew  in  his  old  chair.  I  went  there  last 
night  to  commune  with  him.  I  couldn't  sleep, 
and  I  got  up,  and  went  over  there ;  they'd  left  the 
chairs  out;  the  town  was  asleep,  and  it  was  beau 
tiful  moonlight— 

382 


"ANCIENT   OF   DAYS" 

"To  commune  with  him?     What  about?" 

"You." 

"Why?"  she  asked,  plainly  mystified. 

"  I  stood  in  need  of  good  counsel,"  he  answered, 
cheerfully,  "or  a  friendly  word,  perhaps,  and — as 
I  sat  there — after  a  while  it  came." 

"What  was  it?" 

"To  forget  that  I  was  sodden  with  selfishness; 
to  pretend  not  to  be  as  full  of  meanness  as  I  really 
was!  Doesn't  that  seem  to  be  Eskew's  own 
voice?" 

"Weren't  you  happy  last  night,  Joe?" 

"  Oh,  it  was  all  right,"  he  said,  quickly.  "  Don't 
you  worry." 

And  at  this  old  speech  of  his  she  broke  into  a 
little  laugh  of  which  he  had  no  comprehension. 

"Mamie  came  to  see  me  early  this  morning," 
she  said,  after  they  had  walked  on  in  silence  for 
a  time.  "  Everything  is  all  right  with  her  again* 
that  is,  I  think  it  will  be.  Eugene  is  coming  home. 
And,"  she  added,  thoughtfully,  "it  will  be  best 
for  him  to  have  his  old  place  on  the  Tocsin  again. 
She  showed  me  his  letter,  and  I  liked  it.  I  think 
he's  been  through  the  fire- 
Joe's  distorted  smile  appeared.  "And  has  come 
out  gold?"  he  asked. 

"No,"  she  laughed;  "but  nearer  it!  And  I 
think  he'll  try  to  be  more  worth  her  caring  for. 

383 


THE  CONQUEST   OF  CANAAN 

She  has  always  thought  that  his  leaving  the  Tocsin 
in  the  way  he  did  was  heroic.  That  was  her  word 
for  it.  And  it  was  the  finest  thing  he  ever  did." 
"I  can't  figure  Eugene  out."  Joe  shook  his 
head.  "  There's  something  behind  his  going  away 
that  I  don't  understand."  This  was  altogether 
the  truth ;  nor  was  there  ever  to  come  a  time  when 
either  he  or  Mamie  would  understand  what  things 
had  determined  the  departure  of  Eugene  Bantry; 
though  Mamie  never  questioned,  as  Joe  did,  the 
reasons  for  it,  or  doubted  those  Eugene  had  given 
her,  which  were  the  same  he  had  given  her  father. 
For  she  was  content  with  his  return. 

Again  the  bells  across  the  Square  rang  out  their 
chime.  The  paths  were  decorously  enlivened  with 
family  and  neighborhood  groups,  bound  church 
ward;  and  the  rumble  of  the  organ,  playing  the 
people  into  their  pews,  shook  on  the  air.  And 
Joe  knew  that  he  must  speak  quickly,  if  he  was 
to  say  what  he  had  planned  to  say,  before  he  and 
Ariel  went  into  the  church. 

"Ariel?"  He  tried  to  compel  his  voice  to  a 
casual  cheerfulness,  but  it  would  do  nothing  for 
him,  except  betray  a  desperate  embarrassment. 

She  looked  at  him  quickly,  and  as  quickly  away. 
"Yes?" 

"  I  wanted  to  say  something  to  you,  and  I'd 
384 


"ANCIENT   OF   DAYS" 

better  do  it  now,  I  think — before  I  go  to  church 
for  the  first  time  in  two  years!"  He  managed  to 
laugh,  though  with  some  ruefulness,  and  continued 
stammeringly :  "I  want  to  tell  you  how  much  I 
like  him — how  much  I  admire  him— 

"Admire  whom?"  she  asked,  a  little  coldly,  for 
she  knew. 

"Mr.  Ladew." 

"  So  do  I,"  she  answered,  looking  straight  ahead. 
"That  is  one  reason  why  I  wanted  you  to  come 
with  me  to-day." 

"  It  isn't  only  that.  I  want  to  tell  you — to  tell 
you—  He  broke  off  for  a  second.  "You  re 
member  that  night  in  my  office  before  Fear  came 
in?" 

"Yes;  I  remember." 

"And  that  I — that  something  I  said  troubled 
you  because  it — it  sounded  as  if  I  cared  too  much 
for  you — " 

"No;  not  too  much."  She  still  looked  straight 
ahead.  They  were  walking  very  slowly.  "You 
didn't  understand.  You'd  been  in  my  mind,  you 
see,  all  those  years,  so  much  more  than  I  in  yours. 
I  hadn't  forgotten  you.  But  to  you  I  was  really 
a  stranger — 

"No,  no!"  he  cried. 

"Yes,  I  was,"  she  said,  gently  but  very  quickly. 
"  And  I — I  didn't  want  you  to  fall  in  love  with  me 

385 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   CANAAN 

at  first  sight.  And  yet  —  perhaps  I  did!  But  I 
hadn't  thought  of  things  in  that  way.  I  had  just 
the  same  feeling  for  you  that  I  always  had — al 
ways  !  I  had  never  cared  so  much  for  any  one  else, 
and  it  seemed  to  me  the  most  necessary  thing  in 
my  life  to  come  back  to  that  old  companionship- 
Don 't  you  remember — it  used  to  trouble  you  so 
when  I  would  take  your  hand?  I  think  I  loved 
your  being  a  little  rough  with  me.  And  once, 
when  I  saw  how  you  had  been  hurt,  that  day  you 
ran  away— 

"Ariel!"  he  gasped,  helplessly. 

"Have  you  forgotten?" 

He  gathered  himself  together  with  all  his  will. 
"I  want  to  prove  to  you,"  he  said,  resolutely, 
"that  the  dear  kindness  of  you  isn't  thrown  away 
on  me;  I  want  you  to  know  what  I  began  to  say: 
that  it's  all  right  with  me;  and  I  think  Ladew — " 
He  stopped  again.  "Ah!  I've  seen  how  much  he 
cares  for  you— 

"Have  you?" 

"Ariel,"  he  said,  "that  isn't  fair  to  me,  if  you 
trust  me.  You  could  not  have  helped  seeing— 

"But  I  have  not  seen  it,"  she  interrupted,  with 
great  calmness.  After  having  said  this,  she  fin 
ished  truthfully:  "  If  he  did,  I  would  never  let  him 
tell  me.  I  like  him  too  much." 

"You  mean  you're  not  going  to — " 
386 


"ANCIENT   OF   DAYS" 

Suddenly  she  turned  to  him.  "No!"  she  said, 
with  a  depth  of  anger  he  had  not  heard  in  her 
voice  since  that  long-ago  winter  day  when  she 
struck  Eugene  Bantry  with  her  clenched  fist. 
She  swept  over  him  a  blinding  look  of  reproach. 
"How  could  I?" 

And  there,  upon  the  steps  of  the  church,  in  the 
sudden,  dazzling  vision  of  her  love,  fell  the  burden 
of  him  who  had  made  his  sorrowful  pilgrimage 
across  Main  Street  bridge  that  morning. 

A  manifold  rustling  followed  them  as  they  went 
down  the  aisle,  and  the  sibilance  of  many  whis 
perings;  but  Joe  was  not  conscious  of  that,  as  he 
took  his  place  in  Ariel's  pew  beside  her.  For  him 
there  was  only  the  presence  of  divinity ;  the  church 
wras  filled  with  it. 

They  rose  to  sing: 

"Ancient  of  days,  Who  sittest,  throned  in  glory, 
To  Thee  all  knees  are  bent,  all  voices  pray; 
Thy  love  has  blest  the  wide  world's  wondrous  story, 
With  light  and  life  since  Eden's  dawning  day." 

And  then,  as  they  knelt  to  pray,  there  were  the 
white  heads  of  the  three  old  friends  of  Eskew  Arp ; 
and  beyond  was  the  silver  hair  of  Martin  Pike, 
who  knelt  beside  his  daughter.  Joe  felt  that  peo 
ple  should  be  very  kind  to  the  Judge. 

387 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

The  sun,  so  eager  without,  came  temperately 
through  the  windows,  where  stood  angels  and 
saints  in  gentle  colors,  and  the  face  of  the  young 
minister  in  this  quiet  light  was  like  the  faces  in 
the  windows.  .  .  . 

"Not  only  to  confront  your  enemies,"  he  said; 
"  that  is  not  enough ;  nor  is  it  that  I  would  have  you 
bluster  at  them,  nor  take  arms  against  them ;  you 
will  not  have  to  do  that  if,  when  they  come  at 
you,  you  do  not  turn  one  inch  aside,  but  with  an 
assured  heart,  with  good  nature,  not  noisily,  and 
with  steadfastness,  you  keep  on  your  way.  If 
you  can  do  that,  I  say  that  they  will  turn  aside 
for  you,  and  you  shall  walk  straight  through  them, 
and  only  laughter  be  left  of  their  anger!" 

There  was  a  stir  among  the  people,  and  many 
faces  turned  toward  Joe.  Two  years  ago  he  had 
sat  in  the  same  church,  when  his  character  and 
actions  had  furnished  the  underlying  theme  of  a 
sermon,  and  he  had  recognized  himself  without 
difficulty:  to-day  he  had  not  the  shadow  of  a 
dream  that  the  same  thing  was  happening.  He 
thought  the  people  were  turning  to  look  at  Ariel, 
and  he  was  very  far  from  wondering  at  that. 

She  saw  that  he  did  not  understand;  she  was 
glad  to  have  it  so.  She  had  taken  off  her  gloves, 
and  he  was  holding  them  lightly  and  reverently  in 
his  hands,  looking  down  upon  them,  his  thin  cheeks 

388 


"ANCIENT   OF  DAYS'* 

a  little  flushed.  And  at  that,  and  not  knowing 
the  glory  that  was  in  his  soul,  something  forlorn 
in  his  careful  tenderness  toward  her  gloves  so 
touched  her  that  she  felt  the  tears  coming  to  her 
eyes  with  a  sudden  rush.  And  to  prevent  them. 
"Not  the  empty  gloves,  Joe,"  she  whispered. 


THE     END 


3   1970  00603  7458 


A     000  551  524     2 


